Other Worlds
by hime7757k
Summary: Collection of stories and drabbles, following the BH6 gang through different timelines, events, and adventures. Stories could go from tragic to humorous. Ranging from one-shots to short story series. No particular shippings. Chapter 1: Kistune Brothers
1. Chapter 1: Kistune's Tale

Far away, in the distant lands of Japan, a small village laid nestled between two large mountains.

It's usual peaceful air was disturbed by the sound of screams that tore through the night and the slash of swords hacking through flesh, watering the dirt with fresh blood. Flames crackled, sending dark smoke plumes into the peaceful night sky. Mothers screamed as their children were forcefully grabbed from their arms and sliced right before their eyes. All the men of the village laid dead in the dust, several beheaded to send a message: disobey us and this will be you.

On the hill that overlooked the massacred village stood two figures, shrouded by darkness.

"Neh, onii-san," the smaller one asked, tugging lightly at the larger's dark yukata sleeve. "What is that?"

The larger figure stared down at the burning village, sadness and contempt gleaming in his amber eyes. "That, otouto," he sighed, "is human. A sad race that must destroy to survive."

Another screamed pierced through the evening air. The smaller figure flinched and clasped his hand over his ears. "Make them stop," he whispered. "I don't like those sounds."

The larger looked down sadly at his little brother, wrapping his large white tail comfortingly around the younger's trembling body.

"Come," he sighed, leading his little brother away from the carnage. "There is no more to see here."

* * *

Feudal Japan was a time of war and bloodshed. Villages and people fought over the smallest and most trivial matters. The revolution to overthrow the government was getting nowhere, spilling more blood than necessary. Samurai and rounin roamed the streets, the scent of blood trailing after them. Katana, the blades of the fighter, became a sign of terror. What was once revered by the people became shrouded in fear and death.

And yet, Kasumi Hamada's business was booming. Her small teahouse set up by a dirt path regularly frequented by travelers had become quite well known in the past few years. It was tough work manning a shop by herself, but she somehow managed.

"Cass! Another plate of mitarashi dango please!" a frequent customer of hers called out cheerfully. He was a retired samurai, still carrying around his blade for protection. No matter how many times she chastised him about carrying around such a dangerous thing and sending out wrong messages, he would laugh and wave her off.

"Coming right up, sir!" she said jubilantly, setting down a pot of tea for one of her new customers. "Girls!"

Two girls pushed past the cloth curtains, carrying plates of the tasty snack in their hands. The older girl had one plate expertly balanced on her head.

"Ohh, and who are these beauties, Cass?" another frequent visitor chuckled, eyeing the older girl with interest.

"Boys, control yourselves," Cass rebuked the men in her shop. "These are my nieces. Tomoe*, Haru, say hello."

Tomoe, the older girl, smiled politely and bowed her head down. "Hello, dear guests. Thank you for your flattering compliments." Tomoe's brown eyes sparkled with the afternoon rays. Her dark blue kimono was wrinkle free and she held herself like a noble woman.

Her sister, on the other hand, merely flushed a deep red and turned her gaze (with eyes almost identical to her sister's) to the ground in a flustered bow. Her red kimono was as pristine as her sister's, but she looked so nervous Cass was sure she would pass out. Tomoe nudged her and murmured something into her ear. Haru's face was as red as her kimono now, but she quietly stuttered, "W-welcome."

"I'm sorry, they just started working today," Cass cut in quickly, shooing the children back to the kitchen. "I didn't train them to speak with customers yet."

"That's fine," her retired friend chuckled, sipping at a cup of tea. "The older one, Tomoe, was it? She is of marriageable age now, is she not?"

Kasumi visibly tensed up. Even her smile was hard as she said, "Tomoe turns 16 this year, yes."

"I have a son," he started carefully, "and if you want, I would gladly bring him with me on my next-"

"Thank you for your concern, dear customer," Cass said politely, albeit slightly tight. Her fists were clenched behind her back despite the patient smile on her face. "However, my nieces have no wish to marry at the moment, and I would greatly appreciate you never speak of this again."

The retired man gulped and laughed nervously. Almost as renowned as her delicious snacks, Kasumi Hamada's fury was a force to be reckoned with. Although he had never seen it himself, he had heard rumors, and that was enough. Quickly, he changed the subject in a hope to calm her anger.

Luckily for him, it worked.

* * *

Near the evening, Cass's business started to slow. Her retired friend had long since left, after (yet again) waving off her worries. The sun was beginning to set and there were still a few stragglers loitering around her shop. Giving Tomoe a quick nod, she started grabbing plates to take to the back. It was closing time.

Just as Haru started rolling down the grass mats to cover the entrance of the shop, four shadows appeared on the floor, shocking the young child. Four people, only a little older than Tomoe, walked in nonchalantly.

"Knock, knock," a man with strangely fair skin and yellow hair said jokingly. "Are you guys still open for business?"

Surprised, Haru turned and looked at her aunt unsurely. The older woman locked eyes with her and dipped her head slightly in a small nod. Haru hesitated, then grabbed a few menu's for their last customers.

"Thanks, sweetheart," the large dark skinned man said, shooting her a quick smile. Out of nowhere, Tomoe appeared and wrapped an arm protectively around her younger sister's waist, dragging her away from the new company. She sent an icy glare to the guests before retreating to the back with Haru by her side. A few moments later, the older girl reemerged, the younger child nowhere to be seen.

"Hello, valued customers," Tomoe said flatly, no hint of feeling in her voice. "What would you like to eat today?"

"Ohh, it all looks so good," the golden haired girl sighed. "What do you think, Gogo?"

The short, dark haired girl had sat down and promptly began sharpening a kunai knife. "Anything is fine," she mumbled, holding her blade closely for inspection. The newly sharpened edges glinted off the sun, sending a shiver down Tomoe's spine.

"I recommend the mitarashi dango," the waitress tried. "It's my aunt's most famous dish, and it is quite delectable."

"What's that," the fair skinned male muttered to the golden haired girl.

"It's skewered rice cake balls with a yummy sauce," she whispered back.

The male grinned. "Sounds good," he exclaimed. "We'll have four of those, please. And some tea, thanks."

Not even bothering with a bow, Tomoe turned around with a huff and walked back to join her sister. Almost immediately after the cloth curtain stopped moving, Cass walked back out, somehow balancing three pots of tea on her person.

"You'll have to forgive then," she said apologetically, carefully placing cups of steaming green tea before her last customers. "Tomoe can be a little over protective… and Haru isn't good with people."

"It's fine, ma'am," the fair skinned boy laughed. "Back in my country, we could only dream of seeing siblings that close."

"I'm sorry if I seem rude," Cass asked, "but where are you lot from exactly? I don't recall ever seeing your faces."

"That's cuz we're new around here," the fair skinned boy laughed. "My dad's a foreign minister. I'm only here to study."

Cass knew she should've stopped asking there. Her conscience and her common sense were both screaming at her to drop the conversation. However, her curiosity got to the better of her. "To study about what, exactly?"

The boy leaned over, looked around mysteriously, then whispered, "about kitsune, of course."

A crash echoed through the empty shop. All five heads whipped up to see Haru surrounded by the remains of two plates and two helpings of the tasty treats. She was shaking, eyes darting back and forth between each of the new faces. She opened her mouth, as though to say something, but nothing came out.

Just like before, Tomoe appeared out of nowhere, wrapping a comforting arm around her sister's shoulders. She tugged at the younger child, trying to get her to move back.

"Hang on," the girl called "Gogo" said, standing up abruptly. She stalked over to the sisters, looking at them much like how a panther looks at its prey. Tomoe circled her arms around Haru protectively, hiding the child behind the folds of her kimono. She glared at the approaching woman, lips pressed in a thin line.

"Why such strong reactions to that word, huh, kid?" Gogo asked derisively, trying to maneuver around Tomoe. "Do you possibly…" she twirled the kunai she had been sharpening earlier, "know something?"

Haru shuddered and yanked at her sister's kimono, desperate to go back to the back of the shop. Tomoe was livid. Her glare could've frozen an army. Sensing the ever-growing tension, Cass cut in and bowed deeply. "I apologize, because of this set back, you have to wait a little longer for your food. Your meal will be free of charge, dear customers."

"Gogo, sit down," the golden haired girl hissed, prepared to stand up to drag her friend back to her seat. Tomoe shot Gogo one last glare, which the other woman returned, before gently taking her sister's hands and guiding the trembling child back to the kitchen.

"You must forgive them, they aren't usually like this," Cass said again, bowing as deeply as she could.

"It's fine," the dark skinned man said, waving his hand. "I must apologize for our friend. She can get a _little_ over the top at times." He sent a sharp glare to his friend, who huffed and started drinking her tea.

"Yea, like Wasabi said," the fair skinned boy drawled. "No harm, no foul, right?"

"I suppose," Cass chuckled. "And, again, I apologize if this seems rude, but… aren't kitsunes just a legend? Folklore?"

"They _were_ ," the fair skinned boy corrected. "As we all know, ayakashi have always been a huge part of Japan's history. They've mostly gone into hiding nowadays, but back in the Kamakura period, they roamed the streets, mingling with humans. The most fearsome group was the kitsune."

"The shape shifting foxes," dark skinned man-Wasabi- added. "Their powers were feared by human and spirits alike."

"But they were peaceful creatures," the golden haired girl argued. "If you didn't mess with them, they would leave you alone. They were wise and-"

"Not to be trusted," Gogo snarled, driving her kunai into the wooden table. "It's a good thing they were wiped out, otherwise I would've done it myself."

Cass tipped her head to the side in confusion. "Wiped out?"

"Yea, unfortunately," fair skin sighed. "A few years before the revolution, an army of hunters and warriors banded together and slayed the entire clan. Those that survived are in hiding. I want to be able to see one before I have to go back home, but…" he scratched his head in frustration. "So far, no luck."

"So, are you all hunters then?" Cass asked curiously.

The group blinked at her, then laughed loudly, except Gogo who just snorted and looked away.

"Oh, heavens no," the golden haired girl giggled. "Fred and I are merely tagging along."

"Yea," fair skinned- _Fred_ \- chuckled. "We leave all the work to these two," he said as he jabbed a finger to Gogo and their dark skinned companion. "When it comes to hunting, Gogo and Wasabi are the best."

"Do you hunt for money or…"

"Gogo has an old grudge against them," Wasabi explained. "I'm doing it in hopes of raising enough money to get out of this country."

Tomoe appeared, carrying all four plates of mitarashi dango. Wordlessly, she placed each plate before the customers. Haru was nowhere to be seen, no doubt hiding in the back of the shop. Cass sighed as she thought of how she was going to coax the child to come out later.

* * *

"Thank you for having us," Wasabi said, bowing respectfully. The sun had set a while ago, and the group had just finished eating.

"Of course," Cass laughed, bowing in return. "Thank you for all those lovely stories."

"And we apologize about Gogo again," golden hair-Honey Lemon, Cass had come to learn- said remorsefully. "Please tell that little girl we're sorry?"

"No worries," the shop owner sighed. "It's just that… those children have been through quite a bit…" Shaking her head, she waved her hand in embarrassment. "Oh goodness, there I go again, going off about the past."

"We all do that sometimes," Fred laughed kindly. "That other girl was right, though. Those cakes were delicious."

"Why, thank you. Feel free to come back whenever you like." Then, jokingly, she laughed, "However, next time, you're paying."

Saying their final farewells and good nights, Cass closed the sliding door and blew out the lanterns, turning to retreat back to join her nieces.

Outside, the group walked down the dirt path for a while before turning to face each other. "What do you think?" Honey Lemon asked quietly.

Gogo snorted. "That kid definitely know something," she hissed. "Why else would she react like that?"

"They _do_ have the ability to transform into women," Fred mused. "And her reaction _was_ a bit too much."

"We'll stick around a bit longer then," Wasabi decided. "We'll never know unless we get proof."

"Definitely," Gogo nodded. "We're close, I know it."

Fred turned to look back at the small shop. "We've got them now."

* * *

Cass sighed and rubbed her shoulder, exhausted from her extended day of work. "Tomoe, Haru, wanna draw up a bath tonight?" she called as she walked past the kitchen to her home. Moving the cloth curtain, she looked at the two extremely distressed boys, obviously waiting for her.

"There's no one here, there's no need to use those name's anymore," the older boy huffed, his fox ears twitching in annoyance. "Were they hunters?"

"Two of them were," she sighed, joining the boys on the tatami mats. "One of the girls probably suspects something, so stay low for the next few days, I suppose."

The younger boy flicked his tails worriedly. "Is it my fault?" he whispered fearfully, guilt laced in his trembling voice.

"No, sweetie, no," Cass replied hurriedly, brushing his bangs back and giving him a reassuring smile. "Why don't you and Tadashi go take a bath? You two deserved it, after the day you've been through." Giving Tadashi a quick glance, she stood up and said, "I'll make some tea and snacks for after you're done."

Tadashi also stood, grabbing his younger brother's arm and helping him up. "Thanks Aunt Cass," he called as he and his brother walked out. The younger child still didn't look too happy, but let it go for now.

Chuckling slightly at her two "nephews," Cass stretched her arms over her head. Upon hearing the satisfying crack down her spine, she sighed contently and made her way to the kitchen to boil some water.

 _Who would've thought_ , she snorted to herself, _that the fearsome "all powerful" kitsune are two little children that are living with me._

Kasumi Hamada was never one to look to the past. Her motto was to look forward and not let what happened before drag you down. However, in this particular case, it was impossible not to look back.

 _Cass groaned, rolling down the straw mat to her failing shop. She had given up everything to open up this small store, yet nobody stopped to give it a second glance. It was like her shop was invisible._

 _Grumbling at her rotten luck, she glared at the sky as fat drops began to fall, landing on the dirt path and wetting her patched up kimono. Quickly finishing her task, she walked back indoors, grabbing several towels to dry her already soaked hair._

 _What a dreadful storm it was going to be._

 _After a relaxing bath and a refreshing cup of sake, Cass sighed and flopped down on her futon. Staring up at the ceiling, she couldn't help the pang of loneliness that shot through her heart. Leave it to her to find a place to set up, that's not only literally in the middle of nowhere, but also miles away from any towns. Carriers delivered her supplies to her weekly, or she would buy them off traveling merchants._

 _Turning to face the small drawer by the wall, stress and worry filled her mind as well. Her business, to say the least, was not doing well. She barely had enough money to pay the owner of the land, let alone run the shop. Not for the first time that night, Cass considered closing her shop for good and going back home to her family._

 _Just then, frantic knocking came from the front of the shop. Pushing herself up, she frowned in confusion and annoyance. Who would be knocking at this ungodly hour?_

 _The knocking didn't stop, only turning more and more urgent. Grumbling, she picked up a lantern and yelled, "Coming!"_

 _Nothing could've prepared her for what she saw._

 _A boy, drenched in blood and rainwater, with two sleek white fox ears sticking out of his black hair, was kneeling before her door. Panic filled his eyes as he looked up at her, begging for assistance. "Please," he whispered hoarsely. "Please, save him!"_

 _It was then did Cass notice the bundle he was holding in his arms. Or rather, the person._

 _A child, with ear matching the boys, almost completely covered in blood, lay unconscious in his arms. His breathing was shallow, coming out as small puffs in the frigid temperature of the night._

 _Without a moment to lose, she stepped aside, quickly ushering the boy into her home. He scrambled forward, half dragging, half carrying the child's body with him. She tried not to gag at the trail of blood that was left at his wake._

 _Once inside, she closed the door and bent to pick up the wounded child. The older boy looked hesitant, but carefully handed him over to the woman. Sending him a reassuring glance, Cass carried him to her futon, laying him down gently, not caring when his blood stained her precious bed and clothing red. Peeling away the thin fabric of his red yukata, she grimaced at the wound. A deep, long gash ran from his shoulder to his chest. Blood was flowing from the injury, turning Cass's hands red in an instance. Swiftly grabbing several medicinal herbs and bandages, she started kneading together the herbs, grinding her teeth in concentration. Time was of the essence. She couldn't make any mistakes if she wanted to save this child's life._

 _Taking a cloth, she tossed it at the older child. In the lighting, she realized with a shudder that all the blood staining his clothes didn't belong to him. There wasn't a single wound on his body._

" _Press that against the wound," Cass instructed. "Try to stop the bleeding."_

 _Nodding furiously, he did as he was told, only to leap back when the injured child cried out in pain. The older child's fox tail flicked around worriedly. Pushing that distraction aside, she hissed, "It may look painful, but it's the only way to save him!"_

 _With a panicky look in his eyes, he quickly muttered a few apologies as he pressed down on the gash, flinching every time the child screamed. Hurriedly, Cass dipped her hands into her freshly made paste and spread it across the wound._

 _They actually had to hold him down from the amount of thrashing he did as the herbs cleansed the wound. Cass had had her fair share of cuts and bruises, but one that size with that much medicinal paste on it can't feel good._

 _Finally, after what felt like centuries, the child stopped writhing. His breathing was still heavy, and his fox ears drooped down in exhaustion. Cass let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as she nimbly wrapped the child up in bandages. She would have to stay up tonight to keep an eye on the wound. The worse thing that could happen would be for it to get infected. She didn't have enough supplies to treat infections, and the closest hospital was a good five-day journey, three if you didn't sleep at night._

" _Keep him warm," she said tiredly, wiping away the sheen of sweat that covered her forehead with the back of her hand, no doubt leaving a streak of blood. Her hands were still bright red from all the blood, and her futon was ruined for sure. "Tell me if anything happens while I wash up."_

 _The older boy nodded numbly, wrapping his large, white tail around the younger boy. The leftover blood from the futon stained his fur red, but he didn't care. He just stared blankly at the unconscious child, gently stroking his messy hair._

 _Cass stood and staggered outside, letting the rain wash away the blood on her body. She didn't care about the coldness that gripped at her bones. She didn't care about the fact that her kimono and bed were ruined. She didn't care about the thought of having to close shop tomorrow to scrub the blood off from her front door steps and the tatami mats._

 _All her mind would register was that she was now a criminal._

 _A felon. She had committed one of the biggest crimes in the country._

 _It was no secret that ayakashi existed. Everybody knew about them, and as long as they didn't stay out too late at night, or stray from the paths they were, for the most part, safe. There were even stories of children being born with mixed blood, half-breeds with extraordinary powers. However, several years ago, a treaty was signed and a law was made._

 _Humans and Ayakashi were to stay apart. Any interaction or aiding of the supernatural would lead to immediate execution. And Cass enjoyed having her head attached to her neck, thank you very much._

" _What do I do," she fretted outside, squatting down and holding her head in misery. "If anyone find out, if I get caught, then it's goodbye head." Looking down sadly at her still bloodstained hands, she muttered. "I'll have to keep it a secret… make sure nobody finds out." Standing slowly, she nodded to herself. Pressing her bloodstained hands into the wet earth, she made a vow that night._

" _As long as I'm alive, I will protect this secret. May I take it with me to the grave."_

 _The child, Hiro, finally went to sleep peacefully after the sun had risen the next day. After staying up the whole night making sure the child didn't get an infection in his wound, Cass was exhausted. Of course, Tadashi, the child's brother, didn't look much better. He was worried sick and refused to sleep, his tail wrapped protectively around his slumbering brother. At one point, he had reverted back to fox form, snuggling around the child's body and licking his ears softly._

 _Cass wanted to say that she kept calm and kept a cool head. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. As soon as she walked back in and saw a giant white fox wrapped around an unconscious child, she screamed like bloody murder. Thankfully, no one heard (one of the few pros of living in the middle of nowhere.)_

 _A few more screeches and a small tussle later, Tadashi changed back to his human form and Cass sat panting on the ground, feeling even more terrified and exhausted._

" _How is he?" the fox child asked quietly, eyes not leaving his brother's sleeping face._

" _He needs to rest," Cass gasped, chest still heaving from the initial shock of seeing the kitsune in his true form. "You'll have to stay here a few nights for it to heal without any incidents."_

" _That's fine," he replied instantly. Kneeling on the tatami mats, he pressed his forehead down in a respectful bow and said, "We'll be in your care. Please treat us well."_

 _Cass could only sigh, then gently ran her fingers through Tadashi's black hair, careful to avoid the ears. The kitsune tensed up, but relaxed when he realized she meant him no harm._

" _He'll be up and about in no time," she whispered reassuringly, still ruffling his hair. "And you're more than welcome to stay."_ After all _, she thought darkly_ , you two and I are now forever bonded by our crime.

"Who would've thought," Cass exhaled, "That it's already been six years since that night." Rinsing out three cups, she also pulled out some small leftover snacks from the shop. Carefully cutting several red bean mochi into three pieces, she moved the snacks onto a tray and waited for her boys to come back. She also made sure to set out a dish of leftovers for Mochi, her fat cat that enjoyed roaming around rather than staying in her store. As long as he came back by night, she usually never worried too much.

The storeowner couldn't help but laugh, thinking of the events that followed after that night. As she had predicted, she ended up closing her business for a few nights to take care of the wounded boy and to clean up after the mess. She scrubbed the blood off the stone floors by her door and had to replace the tatami mats. She considered washing out the futon, but ultimately had to throw the old thing away. It was stiff with dried blood and Cass was sure she would not be able to fully clean that thing in a million years.

Tadashi was a great help. When he wasn't by Hiro, helping the child eat or comforting him when he cried, he was helping Cass clean. He even called out some lesser ayakashi to help clean as well (Cass almost passed out when she walked into her home and saw a bunch of little gremlin dusting her walls and reinstalling her floor.

Hiro was a cautious child, but still a great joy to be around. Even though he was heavily injured, whenever he and Cass talked, she felt like her day would be so much better. He was also the strangest creature she had ever seen, not having one, but _two_ white fox tails. When she asked Tadashi about it, he vaguely waved his hand and walked away, leaving the woman to continue mulling.

The day she declared Hiro fit to travel was the day she felt her heart would break.

"Take care of yourselves," she said quietly, pointlessly brushing at Tadashi's already spotless clothing. "I'm going to miss you two." It was true. She had gotten use to waking up and seeing the brother's that it was almost too much to say goodbye. Tears welled up in her eyes, which she furiously blinked away. _Stupid_ , she scolded herself, gently smoothing out a crease on Hiro's yukata. _You knew this day would come there's no need to get so emotional._

Hiro cocked his head to the side in confusion. He looked to Tadashi and flicked his twin tails questionably. "I don't wanna leave," he whined, pulling at his brother's yukata. "I like it here, nii-san, can we stay?"

And that's the story of how Kasumi Hamada got two extra mouths in her home.

Of course, there were several bumps along the road, like teaching them how to act human around others, and making sure they kept their ears and tails completely hidden, but for the most part, Cass enjoyed every bit of those six years with her boys.

They weren't the only ones learning new things.

As time passed, Cass came to learn of the different ayakashi and their classes from the brothers. Hiro, being only three (in kitsune age), somehow had two tails, which was rumored to take at least a century for a full grown fox to receive. Of course, Tadashi was proud, going on and on about how his little brother was special, that a tail gained indicated a stronger and wiser fox. Apparently, Hiro was born with twin tails, shocking their little village, as a two-tailed fox at birth was unheard of.

Tadashi had somehow convinced the elders that it was a sign of good luck, and not the opposite, for they had considered disposing of the newborn in fear of ill omens.

There wasn't a doubt that Hiro was smart. He helped Cass manage her earnings, and even invented several creative methods to make life a little easier for them all. He created a line that would draw in buckets of water to save Cass the half-day journey to the river herself.

Tadashi was also smart. Although he did not have two tails, he made it his duty to keep Hiro out of trouble. Somehow, he was always one step ahead of his brother, there when Hiro accidentally set fire to a farmers field, when he almost revealed his identity to a whole town, when he very nearly started a war between two villages…

But those are all other stories. For later times.

"The water's still warm, Aunt Cass," Hiro called happily, running over to her with a towel covering his still wet hair. Small drops of water dripped down and dotted his red yukata. His red eyes gleamed as he grinned, revealing an adorable tooth gap. "You go bathe too!"

Cass couldn't help but squeal and pinch Hiro's cheek lovingly. "You and Tadashi enjoy the tea while I'm gone," she laughed, standing as Tadashi walked in. "And be sure to dry your hair properly!"

"Yes!" the brothers replied. Tadashi was already on task, rubbing Hiro's hair furiously with a towel. The younger child thrashed as he yelped about Tadashi hurting his ears.

Cass made her way to the bath, still mulling over her new, strange life. She chuckled and closed her eyes happily. _This is my life now_ , she mused, _and however strange it may be, I wouldn't give it up for the world._

* * *

"Neh, nii-san," Hiro mumbled through a mouthful of mochi. Tadashi was still drying his hair, despite his younger sibling's arguing and fussing.

"Yes?" Tadashi replied, practically tackling his brother to keep him still.

"What will happen if those hunters catch us?"

The older fox froze. Hiro looked up, fixing his ruby eyes onto his brother's amber gaze. "Will we have to leave Aunt Cass?" he asked quietly.

"We won't get caught," Tadashi said reassuringly. "As long as we stay calm and don't act too strange, we'll be safe. So no goofing around, okay?"

"Fine," Hiro grumbled. A few moments of silence passed between them before Hiro asked, "But if we do get caught, what will happen to us?"

"We won't get caught, so stop asking," Tadashi growled, harsher than expected. Hiro flinched and fell silent, not wanting to anger his brother. Tadashi immediately felt sorry and wrapped his arms and tail around his little brother. "Hey, hey, I'm sorry," he mumbled, nuzzling his face into his little brother's hair. "Nothing will happen, I'll protect you."

Hiro paused, then quietly murmured, "Will they take us away from Aunt Cass? Will they take me away from _you_?" Fear was heavily laced in to his voice. Tadashi could feel him trembling in terror.

"Shh, it's okay," Tadashi crooned soothingly. "As long as we keep a low profile, we'll be fine."

"But what if-"

"No 'ifs'," he scolded. Hiro crossed his arms and puffed his cheeks out in a pout. Had it not been for the topic they were arguing about, Tadashi would've completely melted and smothered his brother in hugs. "Are you doubting my abilities to protect you?" he asked scathingly, a smirk playing on his lips. He snapped his fingers and the room was suddenly illuminated with small balls of flame.

Kitsunebi, the fox flames, were one of their ultimate sources of defense. The more powerful the kitsune, the more powerful their flames were. While Tadashi and Hiro were still young, they could easily fight off their enemies with their flames. Hiro, to Tadashi's greatest joy and pride, was able to conjure up flames as well. Usually, a fox's flames didn't come until they had lived over a century. However, Hiro, much like his double tails,was special and was able to conjure his flames at the ripe age of two.

Tadashi brought out his flames at an early age as well. While he wasn't as young as Hiro, the village still considered the brothers prodigies and for the most part treated them with the utmost respect.

Hiro only pouted more at the sight of his brother's flames. He had always liked Tadashi's flames. While his were a dark shade of purple, Tadashi's was a light blue. It always soothed him, especially at night. In this case, Hiro conjured out his own flames with a smirk and said, " _My_ flames could beat yours any day."

"Oh yeah?" Tadashi growled playfully. "Then why's it look so small and weak?"

"Does not!" Hiro scowled, making his flames glow brighter.

"Boys!"

Both foxes froze and looked over sheepishly. A very angry Cass stood over then with her arms crossed. "What did I say about kitsunebi inside the house!"

The brothers looked down and mumbled in unison, "No flames inside because it could set the house on fire."

"Honestly, I've told you two over and over again," she scolded. "I don't need to replace these floors _again_!"

"Sorry, Aunt Cass," Tadashi murmured.

"We love you, Aunt Cass," Hiro offered.

"Well, I love you too," she snapped, falling to her knees and pulling her boys into a fierce hug. "Don't worry about the hunters. They'll have to get through me if they want you two."

They shuddered and grinned at their aunt. Good luck to whichever poor soul that would have to face her wrath.

* * *

"Hey, Aunt Cass," Hiro slurred tiredly.

"Yes, Hiro?"

Her house wasn't the grandest in the world, having only one large bedroom. She gave the room to the brothers while she took the living room. She was pulling out the brothers' futons with Tadashi. Hiro was sitting besides then, trying not to fall asleep (and doing a very poor job.)

"Why do the hunters hunt us?" he asked sleepily, missing the glare his brother gave him. "We didn't do anything wrong… did we?"

Tadashi cleared his throat and said, "Hiro, time to go to bed."

"But I didn't get an answer."

"Hiro-"

"No, Tadashi, it's fine," Cass sighed as she finished setting up their futons. "Come here, boys."

The foxes scrambled over to her excitedly, snuggling into her arms as she said, "Let me tell you a story."

"A long time ago, there was a crow that liked helping others," she began. "The other woodland creatures laughed at him for his habits, telling him that it would one day lead to his downfall. But that crow never listened. He continued helping those in need, even if they were dangerous.

One day, a hunter wandered into the woods. He was close to death when the crow found him. The crow, being the kind creature he was, took pity on the human. He flew over to the dying being, trying to lead the hunter to food."

"And the human found food and lived right?" Hiro asked hopefully. Tadashi already knew how the story would end, but stayed quiet for Hiro's sake.

Cass shook her head. "The hunter shot and ate the crow. The crow thought he was being helpful. However, to the hunter, the crow was just food, dumb luck that landed right in front of him. He was just doing what he could to survive." She sighed and said, "Why are the hunters hunting you two? Because to them, hunting you two would mean survival. To them, there's no line between good or bad. There's only survive or get taken out. It doesn't matter if you've done nothing wrong. As long as you are what you are, they will hunt you."

Hiro stayed quiet, absorbing the information Aunt Cass had just told him. As much as Cass hadn't wanted to tell him, she knew that she had to. To keep him safe. "Don't worry about it," she said lightheartedly. "Don't let other's actions make you question who you are. Just because they don't like you, doesn't mean _you_ don't have to like you. Now, try to get some sleep," she sighed, giving them both a kiss on their heads. "We've got a busy day tomorrow, so I can't afford anybody sleeping in."

"Okay," Hiro murmured, climbing into his futon. "Good night, Aunt Cass."

"Good night, Aunt Cass," Tadashi echoed, following his brother's lead and climbing into his own futon. Cass smiled one last time before walking out, taking the lantern with her. The brothers were instantly plunged into darkness.

Tadashi heard the futon rustle as Hiro turned over to face him. Even though it was pitch black, the foxes could still see each other (thank you night vision.)

"Neh, onii-san," Hiro muttered. Tadashi grunted, too tired to give an actual answer. "Are we really dangerous?"

Tadashi stayed silent, taken by surprise by the question. "We're not dangerous if we don't want to be," he finally replied. "How we are perceived by others depends on them. But we don't have to be dangerous."

Hiro hummed in thought, rolling over again to stare at the ceiling. His mind wandered back to a distant memory, the first time Tadashi had taken him out of the village to see the human world. Bandits had raided a small village, not leaving a single survivor. His brother's words echoed in his mind. _Human… a sad race that must destroy to survive…_

Was that why the hunters were looking for them? Because they wanted to survive? _That's stupid,_ Hiro thought angrily. _We didn't even touch them! Why are we being targeted when we literally did nothing!_

But he knew the answer to his own question. It was because they were different. Because they were _special_. Tadashi had always told him to take pride in being a kitsune, which he did. There wasn't a single day that passed that he didn't hate being who he was. But now a threat was rising because of that pride.

Was it worth it? Being different… being _unnatural_ … being hunted… Was it all worth it?

"Human's don't like different things either, huh," Hiro murmured absentmindedly. He was answered by his brother's soft snores. Laughing quietly to himself, he rolled over one last time to face his brother.

He still remembered the circumstances that had drove them to live in the human world. Of course, he had lied to Tadashi and Aunt Cass, stating he had forgotten so they wouldn't fuss over him.

How could he forget the worst night of his life?

But, that's a story for another time… his head was still spinning with the sudden appearance of the hunters in his new, quiet, _peaceful_ life.

 _Humans are weird_ , the young kitsune decided after a long time of quiet mulling. He closed his eyes and let his brother's soft snores lull him to sleep.

 _Then again… I'm weird too._

* * *

 **OMG what's this? I'm starting yet ANOTHER series?**

 **Yes, dear viewers, yes I am x)**

 **So, if you guys don't know, I am a HUGE freak for fantasy and supernatural stuff, so I decided, why not combine this with BH6, right?**

 **Buuutttt, I don't have enough ideas for a full series, so this is just gonna be a bunch of one-shots or mini series put together with stories of the gang in different settings and scenarios (some might be tumblr ideas, some could be requests)**

 **YES I'M TAKING REQUESTS**

 **To all my loyal followers, don't worry, I'm still alive x) Another Tomorrow will be updating soon, and with my school starting soon I'll have more time to daydream LOL**

 **Tell me what you guys think! (tbh even if you don't particularly like it I'll probably still continue writing can't stop won't stop ;))**

 ***reusing names cuz I can LOL**

 **So yeah, if you don't already know, this is the kitsune!Hamadas AU (saw it on tumblr first and it's been in my head ever since)**

 **psssttttt follow me on tumblr: diskpopani-cray**


	2. Chapter 2: Rise of the Titans

**So, quick announcement: I'm moving Rise of the Titans to Other Worlds, mainly cuz I feel like it would be more appropriate to part of these story arcs. They stories will still be as they usually are, just not as it's own separate story. It's also less stressful for me to keep up with my chapter updating ^^**

* * *

 **Rise of the Titans**

Chapter 1: Will Not Rest

It was a dark and stormy night.

The streets were dark as the rain fell from the sky.

A single street lamp was the only source of light. It flickered ominously, threatening to turn off completely. Each flicker lengthened, plunging the neighborhood into darkness until it lit up again.

Suddenly, after one particularly long flicker, when the light turned back on, two figures stood under the lamp. Both had dark cloaks on, hood drawn up, covering their faces in darkness. One was carefully holding a small bundle.

The one with her hands free sighed and snapped her fingers. A small flame lit next to her and her companion, helping light up the streets even if only by a little.

"You can't be serious," she protested. "I can't believe you had another kid with the same guy."

The one holding the bundle shrugged. She peered into the blankets, smiling in relief when she saw the child in her arms was still deep asleep. "What can I say," she murmured. "I'm into the intelligent ones."

Her companion snorted. "There are plenty of other guys that are smart out there. Why this one?"

"There's something about him that… draws me to him. Intellectually speaking," the woman holding the baby struggled to explain. "He… completes me."

"That's funny," the other woman scoffed, "A human. Completing a god."

"You wouldn't understand, Hestia," she sighed.

"Of course not," Hestia replied, crossing her arms. " _I_ don't have any kids. And here you are. The great, wise Athena. Having two kids with the same guy. It's already pretty rare for you to find a guy that attracts you, but having two? That's just unheard of."

"We've had this conversation before," Athena muttered flatly, rocking her child slightly as he shifted restlessly in his sleep.

Hestia sighed. "I'm just worried, alright? I mean, with what's going on in Olympus and all, I thought you'd be more careful. Even Ares is on his guard! But here you are, getting all happy and cuddly with the humans."

"I didn't ask you for help," Athena snapped. "And I know what I'm doing."

Hestia sighed one more time, before grabbing Athena's hand gently. She looked into her friend's eyes and said, "Just… please be careful. I don't want to see you get hurt. You're my best friend."

Athena's gaze softened. "I know… thank you for worrying about me. But I can handle it myself. After I drop him off, I'll head back to Olympus."

Hestia narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Swear on the River of Styx," she said bluntly.

"I swear on the River of Styx that I will return to Olympus as soon as I am done with my business with the humans," Athena sighed. Thunder rumbled in the distance. The vow was set.

Hestia relaxed a little, but she still looked worried. "Call me if anything happens."

Athena smiled. "I will, Hesti. Don't worry."

"When you say 'don't worry', I worry more!" Hestia cried in frustration. She looked ready to rip out her hair.

A sudden clap of thunder shocked the two women. They looked up to the skies. Hestia sighed, "Zeus is calling."

"Go," Athena laughed. "You know how impatient he is."

"Are you absolutely sure you'll be okay?" Hestia fretted. "I mean, I could go with you. Zeus would understand."

"No he wouldn't" Athena said bluntly. "I _promise_ , I'll be _fine_. Now _go_ , before he sends down a bolt of lightning."

Hestia gave her friend a quick hug and peered at the child's face. She smiled wistfully at the adorable sleeping baby. The light flickered again, and when it relit, she was gone.

Athena took in a deep breath, then walked up confidently to the small apartment she had been standing in front of. She knocked on the door softly, glancing around to make sure no one was there. She didn't need any surprise attacks now.

The door opened, light flooding out of the room. A blurry-eyed man with dark hair stood there, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

She couldn't help but smile at the sight. He looked half awake, and completely ridiculous in his striped pajama bottoms and frayed t-shirt.

The man looked at her in surprise, all signs of sleep gone when he realized who it was. "Athena," he said in shock.

She smiled at the man. "Tomeo," she replied calmly.

"Come in, come in!" he said quickly, opening the door wider. Athena stepped into the warmth of the home, grateful to be out of the rain.

Once inside, she pulled down her hood. Tomeo closed the door behind them. A yawn stretched across his face, but he grinned and led his guest to the living room. "This is a pleasant surprise," he remarked. "Last time I saw you was at that tech convention last year."

"I've been busy," she replied honestly. "It's been chaos in Olympus."

"Well, nonetheless, I'm still happy you're here" Tomoe grinned. "It's been boring without having an intelligent mind with me."

The two adults sat in awkward silence. Athena glanced around the room. It was small. The walls were bare, with only one picture in sight. She could make out Tomeo, with a small boy riding on his shoulders. Both had an identical grin plastered on their face.

"So, how's Tadashi?" she asked curiously. The last time she had seen her other son was when she came down from Olympus and delivered him to Tomeo. Similar to what she was doing now, she noted with a mental wince.

"He's been good," Tomeo said, smiling as he picked up the picture. "Just turned seven. He's staying with my neighbors for a bit. I'm out here for a meeting." He hesitantly glanced at her, then mumbled, "If you stick around a bit, you could see him. I'm going back tomorrow."

"As much as I'd like to, I can't," Athena sighed. "And I'm actually here to give you something else. Or rather, _someone_." She held out the small bundle carefully.

Tomeo's eyes widened. "This is… unexpected," he stated calmly. Athena rolled her eyes. As calm as he tried to sound, she could see the pride that was building up inside him.

"Hold him," she whispered, carefully placing their child in his arms.

Tomeo looked entranced, gently stroking his child's ruddy cheeks with his thumb. "He has your looks," he murmured absentmindedly. "So beautiful…"

"What flattery," she laughed. Thunder rumbled outside. Sighing, she stood up. "I have to go."

Tomeo snapped out of his trance, looking up at the woman in surprise. "What? But you just got here!"

"I promised I would go as soon as I was done," she muttered darkly. "It's not safe for me to be here right now. For you and me."

The look on Tomeo's face was heartbreaking. Athena almost reconsidered, but she knew she couldn't. Breaking a vow on the River of Styx would be disastrous, and she didn't need more problems.

He stood wordlessly and walked with her to the door. She stepped outside, looking at her child sadly. "At least hold him one last time before you leave," he said as he noticed her glance, pushing the child into her arms.

Smiling, she rocked her baby and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Sleep well, dear," she cooed.

Suddenly, she froze. Something was wrong. Tomeo felt it as well. He tensed up and pushed Athena and his child away from his house.

A flash of lightning lit the skies. Athena stumbled into the streets as a giant _BOOM_ shook the ground.

Horrified, she turned around to see the apartment in flames. There was no way he survived. The entrance had collapsed, and she couldn't sense any living presence in the flames.

She dropped to her knees, clutching her child to her chest. Miraculously, he stayed asleep, even after that earthshattering sound. Tears spilled out from her eyes, mixing in with the rainwater on her face.

Lifting her head, she wailed, "CRONUS! He wasn't involved in any of this!"

More thunder sounded, but a voice slithered into her mind. It almost seemed to laugh, mocking her and her pain.

Fury washed over her. She glared into the air around her and hissed, "You will pay for this! Mark my words, Cronus! Athena will not rest until she and her children are righted from what you did!" With a swish of her cloak, she disappeared, leaving the flaming home behind.

She reappeared a few blocks away. With a wave of her hand, she conjured up a basket, placing her bundle carefully into it. Tears spilled out from her eyes as she left a small note in the folds of the blanket. Kissing her child one more time, she shut her eyes and walked away, disappearing with another swish of her cloak.

In the morning, a rather elderly, plump woman would open the door at the local orphanage and find the basket, with a crying, hungry baby nestled into a blanket, and a note that simply read " _Hiro_."

* * *

Chapter 2: Meeting

Tadashi Hamada stuck his head around the corner, carefully checking for enemies.

Who are his enemies, you ask?

Just every Greek monster known to man.

Every one of them was out to get him. When he was younger, his dad would always protect him from the attacks. He remembered moving around a lot to avoid any large horde of the monsters.

The 16-year-old sighed. It had been almost 9 years since his dad died. He had been out of town for some big meeting with a bunch of company heads when his apartment exploded. The official report was gas leak. Tadashi was 7 at the time.

He remembered hearing his neighbor/babysitter pick up the phone cheerfully, then immediately dropped to her knees and crying. The very next day he had most of his stuff packed up and he was thrown into some orphanage across town.

The teenager shook his head. _Can't be distracted now_ , he chastised himself. Not when there's a bunch of harpies literally right around the corner.

Ducking down, he prayed to Zeus that they wouldn't find him. He hopped behind some trash bags, hoping the smell of rotting garbage would hide his presence. Wrinkling his nose in disgust, he reluctantly burrowed deeper into the trash as he heard the hags walk over.

There were three of them. They had the faces and bodies of beautiful women, but their arms were those of a giant bird. Their legs transformed from human legs to bird claws halfway down their thighs. One had dark hair, another brown hair and the last a light red. All of them had the same expression on their faces. Hunger.

The brown haired one raised her head and sniffed. "Do you smell that, sisters?" she asked excitedly.

The red head cackled in glee. "Oh, yes," she said as she licked her lips. "Lunch."

The dark haired girl slowly stalked down the alley, claws clicking against the concrete. "Where are you, little half blood," she sang. With one powerful flap of her wings, Tadashi heard other trashcans knock over and fly down the small space. It was a miracle the one shielding him actually stayed in place.

His heart was pounding and a bead of sweat slid down his face. He tried to control the tremble that was in the hand clutching the small celestial bronze dagger. _I can't take three of them at once!_

He heard a delighted cackle, followed by a triumphant "Found you!" Closing his eyes, he braced himself for the attack that was sure to come.

To his surprise, it never came. Opening one eye, he realized that his cover hadn't even been blown. Instead, he heard the harpies' chatters of excitement, followed by a scared and angry squeal.

He carefully looked around the trashcan and peered out. The harpies had walked past his spot, and were instead surrounding the shadows of a giant dumpster. Tadashi couldn't see who it was, but he heard a child's voice scream, "Stay back!"

"Or what," black hair said, "You'll tell us the time with that little toy?"

Red head flapped her wings, hovering closer to whoever it was in the shadows. She lung out a claw and snatched at the boy, lifting him up in the air by his leg. Her sisters joined her in the air, cackling at their catch.

Tadashi was surprised to see that it was just a kid. He was dangling upside down, but still looked ready to fight. His large brown eyes showed anger and fear and he was tossed back and forth between the monsters. His messy black hair looked like it had never seen a brush before, and the oversized hoodie he had on only made him look smaller than he already was.

"What should we do with him, sisters?" Brown head asked as she tossed the boy to another harpy.

"We'll put him over an open fire and roast him," Dark head cackled, giving the boy and extra flip in the air before throwing him to her sister.

"Or we could eat him while he's alive. I do enjoy listening to them scream, you know," Red head mused, gripping him by his arm. At this point, the kid looked dead tired, dizzy from being thrown around so much. Sensing her victory, she used her spare claw and sank it deep into his right shoulder.

The cry of pain tore at Tadashi's heartstrings. He wasn't about to let some kid get eaten by a gang of sorry chickens! Jumping out of his hiding place, he yelled, "Hey!"

That got their attention. All three of them turned and looked at him at once. He gulped. Didn't exactly have a plan for after he got them to look over…

"Let the kid go!" he said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. Inside, he was terrified. There was no way he was getting out of a fight with three full grown harpies without sustaining some major injuries.

"Our lucky day!" Dark head hissed. "Two half bloods!"

"This will keep us satisfied for days!" Brown head agreed.

Red head smirked at the teenager on the ground. "What can you do?" she scoffed. "We are in the air, while you're stuck on the ground." Just to torture her prey more, she burrowed her claws deeper into the child's shoulder, looking disgustingly happy when he screamed in pain again.

 _This is bad_ , he thought. At this point, the kid would probably end up getting eaten. They were right. They could easily fly off any second. _I need to distract them._

"Wow," he drawled, expertly twirling the dagger between his fingers. The harpies hesitated for a second, glaring at the celestial bronze. The only weapon that could keep them from their meal. "I can't believe it. _I_ thought you would actually try to fight for your meal. But I guess not." He feigned a sigh of disappointment, before smirking at the ladies. "What a bunch of chickens."

The harpies all riffled their feathers in indignation. "We are not chickens!" Brown head yelled. She dived down, murder written all over her face.

Tadashi couldn't help the grin that lit up on his face. _Perfect… just as planned_.

The harpy drew nearer and nearer, but Tadashi just waited. She was literally a few inches away from him when he quickly sidestepped. She darted past him with a surprised squawk. In the seconds it took for her to fly by, Tadashi timed it perfectly. As soon as she was where he used to be standing, he mercilessly plunged the dagger into her back. She screeched in pain as the celestial bronze pierced through her chest. She was reduced to a pile of ashes before she even hit the ground.

"No!" Dark head wailed. Her face was contorted in fury and grief. "You killed our sister!" With that, before the Red head could protest, she dived down. Not making the same mistake her sister had made, she soared down with claws out, ready to tear the half blood limb from limb.

Of course, Tadashi was ready for that too.

He ducked as the harpy flew over his head. Spinning around on the ground, he lunged forward, propelling all his strength into his stab. The harpy turned around just in time for him to hit her square in the abdomen with deadly precision. She shrieked in pain before bursting into a pile of ashes.

Tadashi panted as he wiped his brow of the sweat. Grinning at his success, he turned and stared at the final harpy triumphantly. "Looks like it's just you and me now."

She looked more angry than sad as she smirked evilly. "What's to say I don't fly away now with my meal? More for me!" With that, she flapped her wings and flew up higher, laughing at her win.

Her laughter was suddenly cut off, ending with a sickening gurgle. She looked down at the celestial bronze arrow that was burrowed into her chest. The child in her claws was panting from the pain in his shoulder, but anger burned past it. He held a small crossbow in his hand before smirking and saying, "I told you the time."

She shrieked and disappeared in a burst of ash, blown away by the wind. Unfortunately for the kid, with her disappearing, he was also left in the air, and the wind really couldn't do anything to help. He screamed as he fell closer to the ground, ready to feel the hard contact of his body hitting the concrete.

Fortunately for him, Tadashi was there. The teenager braced himself, holding his arms out. The child landed in them safely, but the impact sent both of them falling. Man, this kid was lucky… first he had somebody to catch him, and now he had a human cushion. Tadashi winced at the bruise that was sure to form from that fall.

"You alright, kid?" he asked gruffly from the floor.

Tadashi was expecting the kid to be crying, or at least to say thank you a million times. What he wasn't expecting was the glare he received. The kid scrabbled off of him, stepping on Tadashi's stomach as he did. All the wind was immediately knocked out of him from that step, and he rolled over, holding his stomach gingerly.

The kid looked down at the teenager, glaring at him through a mane of messy hair. "I didn't need your help!" he hissed. "I had everything covered! But you just _had_ to play hero and ruin everything!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Tadashi pushed himself up. He patted off the dirt and grime sticking to his clothes as he looked down at the child. "'Had it covered?' You were about to get eaten alive!"

"That was part of my plan, bonehead!"

This kid was seriously getting on his nerves. Not only did he not thank him for the rescue, but now he was yelling at Tadashi for saving his life? _And_ insulting him? Oh no, no, no. This cheeky brat was _not_ gonna get away with it.

"What about that shoulder," Tadashi scoffed, pointing at the wound that was slowly seeping blood. "Was that part of the plan too?"

"Minor set back," the kid hissed back. "I'm capable of handling myself, and I don't need some giant deciding he can come in and ruin everything!"

"I'm not a giant, you're just short!" Tadashi threw back lamely (impromptu insults were never really his thing). "What are you, seven or something?"

The kid bristled. "I'm _nine_!"

"Right, big difference," Tadashi said. "You wouldn't have been able to reach ten if it weren't for me! Besides, what's a brat like you doing out here anyways?"

"I could ask you the same question," the kid replied coolly. "Since you have that dagger, I'm assuming you're a half blood."

"You too, huh?" Tadashi sighed. He was seriously never going to catch a break. Sitting down wearily, he sighed again and grinned at the defensive child before him. "Who's your parent?"

"None of your business," the kid replied hotly. He turned and walked back into the shadows of the trash bin. Curious, Tadashi grabbed his bag and followed, cheerfully calling out a "wait up!"

Protected from the sun's rays in the gloom of the dumpster, Tadashi crawled into the small space, following the child. The kid just glared at his new companion, but said nothing. Instead, he pulled out a small backpack from behind some boxes, rummaging through the contents.

"Here, I've got some disinfectants and bandages if you want," Tadashi offered, reaching for his own bag.

Wrong thing to say. The kid's eyes flashed in indignation and he pointedly spat, "I don't need your help!"

Tadashi raised his hands up defensively. "Look, just let me treat that shoulder. Then I'll leave you alone, alright?"

The kid squinted at him suspiciously. Finally, he mumbled, "Alright… but you better leave after!"

The teenager grinned as he scooted closer to the injured child. He carefully peeled off the bloodstained hoodie and moved the fabric of the kid's shirt as gently as he could. He pretended not to notice the kid wince as the fabric rubbed against the wound.

"Wow, that harpy sure did a number against your shoulder," Tadashi muttered, carefully soaking a clothe with hydrogen peroxide. He gently dapped at the four holes left in the child's flesh.

The kid hissed in pain as the peroxide bubbled against his wound. "Stupid birds," he muttered, trying to take his mind off of the pain.

Tadashi tried to start a conversation as he treated the wound. "So where'd that crossbow come from?" he asked casually as he dabbed at the circle in the back.

The child winced before saying through clenched teeth, "My watch." He tapped on a button on his watch and Tadashi watched in amazement as it morphed into a crossbow, celestial arrows ready to be fired. "My parent gave it to me," he muttered. "The arrows refill if it runs out, and if I lose it it'll come back by itself."

"Cool," Tadashi said, looking at the weapon. He pulled out several rolls of bandages and worked on wrapping up the kid's shoulder. "My mom gave me the dagger. And my hat."

"Hat?" The kid actually sounded interested.

The teenager grinned. "Yeah, it's in my bag now, but when I have it on, it turns me invisible."

"Like Hades' helm of darkness?" the kid asked wearily.

"Kinda," Tadashi shrugged. "But don't worry. Hades isn't my parent."

"I'm not worried," the kid scoffed.

"Right," Tadashi laughed as he finished tying up the bandages. "And there you go! All set."

The kid moved his shoulder carefully, wincing slightly. Begrudgingly, he muttered, "Thanks."

"Anytime, kid," Tadashi laughed, casually messing up the child's dark hair.

The kid squealed in protest and swatted at Tadashi's hand. He glared at the older boy and said, "Now leave. You said you would go after you helped me."

"I guess I did." Tadashi tried to hide the disappointment from his voice. Truthfully, he was hoping the kid would have a change in heart and want to join him. It was lonely running around by yourself.

He packed away his things as the kid glared at him suspiciously. Tadashi sighed and shouldered his bag. "Well, see you around, kid." He crawled out towards the sunlight. As soon as he was outside, he stood up and stretched out his stiff limbs.

"Wait."

Surprised, he looked down and saw the kid crawl out next to him. The younger child looked unsure, looking down as he asked quietly, "Where are you going?"

Tadashi was caught off guard, but he replied cheerfully, "Spared a Cyclops the other day. He said something about a Camp San Fransokyo and how there were a bunch of other demi-gods there. Guess it's like some kind of safe haven? Monsters can't get in." He shrugged before continuing, "I'm trying to find this place. Getting tired of having to watch my back everyday."

The kid didn't say anything. He looked like he was debating on some hard topic, both sides in his head. After a few seconds, he asked timidly, "Can I come with you? I'm tired of being hunted down by monsters all the time."

Tadashi wanted to jump up and down like a little kid at Christmas. He wouldn't be alone anymore! He grinned and ruffled the child's hair again, laughing when he immediately received a swat to the hand. "Sure, you can tag along, kid! The more the merrier, right?"

The kid mumbled something unintelligible, but dragged out his backpack and slung one strap over his uninjured shoulder. He shot a glare at Tadashi before saying, "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm only coming along cuz I'm tired of monsters. As soon as we're at this camp place, it's sayonara, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Tadashi chuckled as he started walking down the alley.

The kid ran to catch up, muttering about giants and big steps.

Speaking of which…

"My name's Tadashi Hamada, by the way," the teenager said happily. "My godly parent is Athena. What about you?"

For some reason, the child scowled when Tadashi told him his parent. He simply replied, "Hiro."

"Does 'Hiro' have a last name?" Tadashi asked teasingly.

"I'm not inclined to give away my name to a person I just met," Hiro replied tersely.

"Who's your godly parent?"

Hiro scowled even more as he muttered, "It's my mom. My mom's Athena."

Tadashi stopped walking, raising his eyebrow at his newly discovered half-sibling. Well, that explains the scowl.

* * *

Three cloaked figures stood looking at a suspended sphere of light. They watched as Tadashi Hamada laughed at the bristling child accompanying him.

One of the figures pulled out a piece of thread.

"It has begun, sisters."

* * *

 **But yea, these are just the same two chapters from Rise. Don't worry, a third is on its way! Enjoy the other update too ^^**

 **Comments are greatly appreciated :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Mermaid's Journey

**Here's the update, as promised! Merman AU requested by Izi Wilson**

 **Be sure to drop request in the comments and I'll see what I can do! ^^**

* * *

"Hiro, slow down!" Tadashi fretted, thrashing his tail to catch up to his speeding little brother.

"How can I?" the younger merman asked, darting back and forth between the occasional fish that got in his way. "Today's the day!"

"I get that you're excited, little bro," Tadashi replied, dodging one particularly rude school of fish, "but do you really have to swim so recklessly?"

"Stop worrying, you worrywart," Hiro snorted and brushed off his brother's concerns. "Fred said your scales would fall if you worry too much."

"Will not!" Tadashi defended, speeding up until he was next to his brother. "Gotcha!"

"Don't think so!" Hiro grinned triumphantly as he lunged up and dodged his brother's strong arms. "Come on, you have to do better than _that_ to catch me!" He darted away, racing for the castle.

"HIRO, LOOK OUT!"

"Huh?" Looking to the side, a few seconds too late, pain erupted in his abdomen as a speeding _something_ hit him dead on. Choking out a shocked breath, he plummeted to the ocean floor.

"HIRO! Are you okay?" Tadashi fussed, swimming down to look over his little brother. "What happened?"

"Not sure," Hiro coughed. "Who was it that called me?"

"That would be me," a familiar voice said sheepishly. The brothers looked up and both sighed in understanding. Fred was grinning at them guiltily. He swished his orange tail and propelled himself next to the brothers. "You okay, little guy?"

"Fine, I think," Hiro mumbled as he rubbed his still throbbing stomach. "What hit me?"

"Oh, this?" Fred laughed, holding up his little treasure. "This is a _thingamajig_."

"Ohhh," the brothers breathed in awe, moving closer to examine the object in their friend's hand. "What's it do?" Tadashi asked, poking it warily.

Fred's face fell slightly as he looked at his toy. "Uhh, not really sure," he shrugged. "Picked it up onshore after one of those boats crashed a few days ago. It's definitely not a ball," he said jokingly.

The _thingamajig_ in Fred's hand had two sides that looked the same. It was made of the same shiny and hard stuff that always sinks to the bottom of the ocean. The two sides were rounded with a weird square cut out of it. The outside ends were open, which seemed really strange to the merpeople.

"Is it a human utensil, maybe?" Hiro asked, cocking his head as he examined the strange device before him.

"Maybe," Fred said cheerfully. "Hey," he exclaimed, "Since today's your special day, you can have it!" He shoved the _thingamajig_ in his younger friend's arms. "And don't worry," he reassured Tadashi. "Pretty sure it's not dangerous. I mean, I've been whacking it around nonstop for the past few days and nothings happened to me yet."

"That's reassuring," Tadashi sighed. "Come on," he muttered, grabbing his awed little brother and his distracted friend. "We should go, it's starting."

* * *

Tadashi and Fred made their way through the crowd of merpeople that were bustling around in the king's large court. The solid gold pillars were decorated with magical pearls that lit up the room. Large seashells covered the pearls as decorations and shades.

"Fred, you know you don't have to sit here, right," Tadashi pointed out. "I mean, as the king's son, you can sit with him and oversee the ceremony."

"Nah, too official," Fred drawled. "It's better to just hang out with you and your bro. Besides, dad has Wasabi helping him."

Tadashi snorted at his lazy friend, but he was thankful. His parents had died a long time ago, and he never made any real friends other than Hiro. Fred running into him and becoming his friend was totally unplanned. As much as his friend bluffed, Tadashi knew he was just keeping him company.

"That's true, I guess," Tadashi shrugged, straining to look over all the merpeople by him. "Oh, I see him!"

The doors opened and Tadashi watched with pride as his little brother gracefully darted past them. He caught Hiro's eyes and flashed his brother a quick thumbs up and a reassuring smile. Hiro smiled slightly before turning to face the front.

Their friend and royal court advisor, Wasabi, swam out and positioned himself by the throne. Although he kept his expression neutral and controlled, he shot Hiro a quick comforting gaze before hardening his gaze. "Now presenting," he spoke forcefully, "Our king, King Stan."

The crowds cheered as a strong, well-muscled merman with flowing white hair seated himself on the throne. The orchestra of fish played their soft symphony as the people of Atlantis applauded the presence of their king.

"Now, as you all know," the King started, "there is yet another child that is coming of age today." He looked at Hiro and smiled warmly. "Hiro, come forward."

Tadashi could see his brother tremble with excitement as he lifted his head and drifted over to the King. The older brother smiled proudly as he clapped loudly and whooped happily as his brother approached their ruler.

"Hiro," their King began, "you are one of the strangest children I have ever had the honor of meeting." He chuckled as Hiro flushed a deep coral red. "Of course, we mean this as a good thing, right Wasabi?"

"Of course, sir," the green tailed, stoic faced merman replied.

"After all," the King chortled, "it's not everyday a fourteen-year-old comes of age."

"Thank you?... sir," Hiro muttered, "I worked hard to get here today."

"I'm sure you have," the King smiled kindly. "Now," he said louder, "you all know the requirements of this ceremony. The child must prove himself or herself worthy by completely several complicated and tricky tasks. Hiro has proven himself ready to go to the surface world with his completion of his last task." In a lower voice, the King mumbled, "It feels like just yesterday I was conducting your brother's coming of age ceremony." Hiro flushed again and looked down, mumbling a quick voice of gratitude.

"Hiro, as King of Atlantis, I am proud to give you this amulet, signifying that you have come of age and can survive in the ocean on your own." He looped a small red conch amulet around the young boys neck, a color matching the boy's tail. "Although he is young, he has proven himself worthy with his training and his skills displayed in any situation he may face. Congratulations, child."

"Hiro!" Tadashi yelled happily. Fred followed in suit and yelled out his little friend's name. Soon, the whole crowd was chanting his name, making his face flush a deep red yet again.

"They're cheering for you," Wasabi mumbled low enough that only Hiro heard him. "Good job, kid. I'm happy for you."

Hiro beamed and lifted his conch up sheepishly. The crowd went wild with cheers and claps of joy.

"Settle down, everyone," the King laughed cheerfully. "Now, Hiro, you can venture out of the safety of our kingdom at your own risk. Do you wish to make your first trip out today?"

"Yes," Hiro replied confidently.

"Very well," the King nodded, "Wasabi, set up the lights for-"

"With all due respect, sir," Hiro cut in shyly. The crowd gasped. Wasabi stopped writing on his board and stared at the child in shock. Even Tadashi and Fred paled. Nobody interrupted the king. Unless they had a death wish.

However, the King only smiled and gestured for the newly of age child to speak. Hiro nodded gratefully, then said, "Although I am of age by name, I still feel as though I would fair better with the company of another."

The King's eyes twinkled in understanding. "You wish to take someone with you," he summed up. Hiro nodded sheepishly in reply. "I have a feeling I know who this 'somebody' is," the King chuckled. "Very well! Tadashi!"

Slightly embarrassed from the stares that trained on him as soon as his name was said, Tadashi swam over the crowd towards his brother and his king. As soon as he reached them, he tipped his head and opened his arms out as a respectful bow. "My king?"

"Your brother wishes for your companionship to the human realm," the old man said with a raised brow. "You have been to the surface many times before. I trust you to take care of your brother. Do you agree to comply with his wishes and accompany him?"

Tadashi glanced to his side to look at his brother. Hiro looked away in embarrassment. Although they were always together, Hiro was always too prideful to admit he needed help. Asking for someone to help him in the human world was as loud of a plea for help as anyone could make.

"Of course," Tadashi replied solemnly, turning to face his king. "I will guard my brother with my life."

"Then it's decided," the King of Atlantis nodded. "Tadashi, you will join Hiro in his first venture to the surface tonight. Now, go pack anything you may need for the trip. It may be days before you find your way back to us."

* * *

"What were you thinking?!" Fred exclaimed, darting over to the brothers. The King and the crowd had left, leaving Fred, the brothers, and Wasabi. "You know it's dangerous up there! I mean, last time you almost-"

"Look, I know it was kinda hasty," Tadashi quickly interrupted, "but there's no way I'm letting Hiro go alone."

"Sorry for causing so much trouble, Dashi," Hiro mumbled lowly. He sat on the steps leading to the throne, looking down at his new conch. Every of age merperson had one. Tadashi's received his a few years before Hiro. It was light blue, matching the color of his tail. Fred and Wasabi also had theirs, but knowing them, Fred probably lost his and Wasabi no doubt had his made into a plaque and placed on his wall.

"There's nothing to be sorry for," Tadashi reassured his brother. "You saved me the trouble of following you," he joked, hoping Hiro would crack a small smile and show his adorable tooth gap. It worked.

"Not gonna lie, but that was kinda rash, Tadashi," Wasabi said nervously. Now that he was no longer "the king's advisor," Wasabi was timid and quiet spoken. "The real him," Fred liked to call it. "I mean, you haven't been up in what, a few months now? Plus, it's always risky going up in pairs. What if someone sees you?"

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Tadashi laughed reassuringly, slinging an arm around his friend's neck. "Besides, I've made tons of trips up, a break for a few months isn't gonna keep me from going back to the surface, especially if it's Hiro's first trip."

"I guess…" Wasabi sighed. "Just, promise you'll be careful, okay? I mean, last time you-"

"I know," Tadashi interjected lowly. "We'll just go up and come back immediately. Right, Hiro?"

"What?" Hiro asked, gaping at his brother and friends. "But, every time you go up, you stay for _days_! That's not fair!"

"There's no arguing this, little bro," Tadashi said warningly. "We'll look around a bit, but we're coming back down right after. Got it?" Hiro grumbled something under his breath and crossed his arms in frustration, but otherwise stayed silent.

"Dude, you're gonna love it up there," Fred laughed. His eyes glazed over as he reminisced, "There's this pretty light in the sky and everyday, before it turns to night, the water swallows it. Then a smaller white glowing ball with a bunch of super tiny lights fill the sky! Sometimes, the humans have parties on their boats and it sounds so fun when-"

"Okay, don't make him want to stay longer," Tadashi groaned, already scared of the look of curiosity and adventure that filled Hiro's face. "Come on, little man. We gotta go back home now."

"Right," Hiro sighed. Waving goodbye to his friends, he called back as he swam away with his brother, "See you guys after we come back!"

* * *

"Why can't we stay longer?" Hiro asked as he and Tadashi darted between schools of fish. "I mean, it's my first time going to the surface, I should be able to stay longer."

"You'll have plenty of opportunities to go up more in the future," Tadashi replied. "You're too young to go up for too long. It's dangerous at the surface, little bro. Fred may make it sound like fun and games, but there are all kinds of dangers!"

"Yeah, I know," Hiro sighed dejectedly. "We could get caught in fishing nets, or trapped onshore. Or worse, seen by humans."

"Exactly," Tadashi nodded as he and Hiro slowed to a stop. Seeing how disappointed his little brother looked, he smiled slightly and flicked Hiro's head lightly. "Hey, cheer up kid," Tadashi laughed as his brother rubbed his forehead furiously. "Excited? You're going up as soon as we tell Aunt Cass about this!"

"Oh yeah, totally!" Hiro grinned, revealing his little tooth gap. "I've been waiting for this moment my entire life!"

* * *

"Alright, I got two orders of seaweed salad, hold the clams on one, and a side of fried sea stars!"

"That's us!"

"Enjoy your meal, sir!"

"Hey, Aunt Cass," Tadashi called cheerfully, dragging Hiro over with him. "We're back!"

"Tadashi! Hiro!" The purple tailed mermaid zipping around the café stopped and pulled both brothers into a tight hug. "Welcome back! How was it? I'm so sorry I couldn't go, it's just that the fish in this area really won't give me a day off!"

"It's fine," Hiro grinned. He lifted his conch proudly and showed it to his aunt. "Check it out, Aunt Cass!"

"Oh, my," she gasped. "Hiro, it's beautiful! I'm so proud of you!" She tackled her nephew in another tight hug. "Now, I'm sure you most likely interrupted the king and told him you want to go with Tadashi to the surface tonight, right?"

Hiro looked down embarrassedly and mumbled something incoherent. Tadashi laughed and ruffled his brother's hair. "You can read him like a book, Aunt Cass."

"Not just him, you too young man," she wagged a finger at him warningly. "Knowing you, you didn't even stop to think before you said yes."

"Guilty."

"Well, there's nothing I can do about that," she sighed. "Just be careful! After what happened last time-"

"Yes, Aunt Cass, I'll be sure to keep this knucklehead out of trouble," Tadashi cut in hastily, wrapping an arm around Hiro's thin shoulders and giving his brother a playful noogie.

"And you!" Aunt Cass sniffed, crossing her arms angrily. "You better both come back to me safe an sound, got it? Or so help me, I will gather your bubbles and ground you both for eternity!"

"Yes, Aunt Cass!" the brothers answered simultaneously. After years of hearing her empty threat, it became more of a habit than an actual response. They both knew their aunt was joking (for the most part). She was just worried about her boys.

A bell interrupted them. Aunt Cass turned and sighed. "I need to get back to work. Be careful, you two! Hiro, listen to everything your brother says!"

"Yes, ma'am," Hiro mumbled disgruntledly. He obviously still wasn't happy with Tadashi's decision to stay for only a bit.

"Tadashi, keep your eyes on your brother," Aunt Cass continued. "Make sure he doesn't do anything reckless."

"Yes, Aunt Cass," Tadashi nodded. "Come on, Hiro, we should get going if you still wanna reach the surface before day break!"

"Oh, right, the light in the sky!" Hiro swam around eagerly. He gave his aunt a quick hug and a peck on the cheek. "LoveyouAuntCass, seeyoulater!" he said hurriedly. He darted away before his aunt could register what he had said. Yanking on his brother's arm, he huffed, "Come _on_ , Tadashi, we're wasting time!"

The older merman laughed and gave his aunt a hug. "See you in a bit, Aunt Cass."

She kissed his cheek and smiled. "You two have fun!"

As the brothers swam away, Hiro waved back and yelled, "I'll bring you back a gift, Aunt Cass!"

* * *

"Excited?" Tadashi asked, nudging Hiro as they swam out to the open ocean.

"Of course!" Hiro exclaimed, doing loops of joy as his brother rolled his eyes. "I've been looking forward to this since you brought me that toy trident thing last time!"

"That was five years ago, Hiro."

"Which shows you how long I've been waiting!" Hiro twirled around his brother impatiently. "How much longer do we have to swim before we can go up?"

"Just a bit further," Tadashi replied cheerfully. "We gotta make sure we choose just the right place after all."

"Hmph," Hiro grumbled, crossing his arms and swimming back and forth impatiently. They brothers swam in silence, until Hiro quietly said, "Hey, Tadashi…"

"Yeah, what's up, little bro?" Tadashi said absentmindedly.

"… What happened last time you went up?"

Tadashi fixed his gaze ahead, refusing to look at his curious younger brother. Hiro tilted his head questioningly, noticing his older brother's jaw tighten.

 _The boat was in flames. Falling, flaming debris rained around him as he fervently darted back and forth between the deadly rubble. All he had wanted to do was grab a little something from the ship as a present for Hiro. He never expected this to happen…_

"Nothing," Tadashi said slowly, swimming a little faster. Hiro rushed to catch up, surprised by his brother's sudden gain in speed. "Let's just say… I made a mistake."

"You?" Hiro blurted. "You messed up? But you never mess up. I'm the one responsible for making messes not you," he said jokingly.

"I know, I know," Tadashi chuckled. "And I usually get you _out_ of those messes."

"Exactly," Hiro huffed. "Don't go taking my job, big bro."

"Whatever you say," Tadashi snickered. Looking around, he grinned at his little brother and nodded his head up. "We're here."

"Holy TritonholyTritonhoLYTRITON!" Hiro squealed, fully ready to spring up to the surface.

"Hold up, little brother," Tadashi laughed, catching Hiro around the waist before he could rush off. "First, rules."

"Ugghhhhh," Hiro groaned, rolling his eyes and slumping his shoulders in boredom. "Do we have to?"

"If you pay attention, we'll go up faster," Tadashi laughed. Hiro nodded quickly and gestured for his brother to proceed.

"First," Tadashi chuckled, "Do _not_ leave me sight." A nod.

"Second, if any humans show up, duck down immediately underwater." Nod.

"Third, no going near the shore." Another nod.

"Lastly, never, I repeat, _never_ talk with a human."

"Got it," Hiro replied solemnly. "No humans."

"Perfect," Tadashi said cheerfully. "If you follow those rules this time, we might come back sooner."

"Alright, can we just go already?" Hiro started swimming in circles. "The lights are gonna disappear by the time we get up!"

"They'll still be there, I promise," Tadashi chuckled. "But you're right, we should get moving. Lead the way!"

Hiro squeaked excitedly. He swam forward swiftly, barely giving any thought to the open sea around him. Tadashi kept up easily, letting Hiro have a little space to himself. After all, it was the kid's first time going to the surface. Tadashi wanted him to enjoy his first experience.

Every merperson out there would all agree: the first time past the waves would always be the best one. Tadashi could still remember his first time out of the ocean clearly. Perched on a rock and looking out to the distance, he still remembered the feeling of the wind on his bare skin, watching the waves ripple as the glowing orb lit up the sky, seagulls crying their song…

Not paying attention, he didn't notice that Hiro had stopped swimming (by almost crashing into him). Surprised, Tadashi swam over carefully, placing a comforting hand onto his brother's shoulder. "What's wrong?" he asked softly.

Hiro looked down unsurely. They were _so close_ to the surface. Tadashi could see the waves that beckoned to him, telling him to join the surface world. They were only a few strokes away from breaching the water. "What if… what if I don't like it?" Hiro asked quietly. "Everyone keeps telling me about how _amazing_ the surface is, and how magical their experiences were… but what if I'm different? What if I'm some weirdo that doesn't understand how amazing it should be? How am I supposed to explain to everyone that I'm a big flop that couldn't enjoy his first trip up?"

"Hey," Tadashi said firmly. He lightly hit his hands around Hiro's face, ignoring his brother's cries of indignation as he pulled his face forward to look him in the eyes. "There's no rule that says you _have_ to like the surface. You could prefer staying underwater your whole life, and that's fine! Take Aunt Cass, for example. Why do you think she opened that café?"

"But… but what if… what if that's not the only thing I'm different in? I mean, look at me," he pushed away from Tadashi's hands. "I'm fourteen and I'm about to go to the surface. Don't you think that's weird? Even in our standards?"

Tadashi knew exactly what was bugging his little brother. Throughout his whole life, Hiro was never… like the other kids. He was smart, smarter than your everyday octopi. Tadashi didn't know how many times the teachers at his school would send Hiro to trim the seaweed gardens as punishments for talking back to them. At this point he was practically a profession gardener (added to the list of other things the kid learned himself). He managed to skip through the classes everyone else had to take on surface safety because he already knew everything. Hiro enjoyed skipping class and exploring the ocean floor, looking for sunken treasures and other gadgets from the human world (another reason he was punished often). Tadashi knew that being the youngest merman in a school of 18-year-olds and coming of age before them all must be very stressful. He smiled and ruffled his brother's hair playfully.

"Don't worry, little bro," Tadashi laughed. "I've always known that you're a weirdo. If you don't like the surface, then that's your choice. No one can tell you how or how not to react. It's up to you with what you want to do. If you don't like what you see beyond our waters, then that just means your true passion is somewhere else out there. You just gotta work harder to find that passion, and when you do, you'll know you've lived a complete life."

Hiro perked up a bit after his brother's speech. "Did you find your passion, Tada-nii?"

"I know what my passion is," Tadashi chuckled. He flicked Hiro's nose lightly, laughing when his baby brother wrinkled his nose up in annoyance. "My passion is taking care of you."

"That sounds boring," Hiro sighed sympathetically. "You must be a really boring person if that's your passion," he snickered teasingly.

Tadashi grabbed Hiro, giving him a gentle noogie as Hiro squawked angrily. "You'll find it one day, little bro," he whispered into Hiro's ear. "And when you do, you'll know."

Hiro looked at Tadashi unsurely, but smiled. He took a deep breath and looked up. "I'm ready," he mumbled.

"Together," Tadashi chuckled, holding his hand out. Slightly unwillingly, Hiro grabbed his brother's outstretched hand. Tadashi swam up slowly, gently pulling Hiro with him. Hesitant at first, Hiro slowly started picking up speed, eyes followed the dark blues and blacks that surrounded him. _No_ , he scolded himself. _Look up_.

Tilting his head up, he gaped in astonishment at the large, blurred white orb that shined on him. As they swam closer and closer to the surface, the orb grew, shining through all his doubts and worries.

 _This is it_ , Hiro sighed contently to himself. _I need to keep looking up. No more being scared, no more being worried. I need to look up and find my passion._

His head broke through the waves first. Taking a deep, slightly frightened breath, he grabbed onto Tadashi's arm tighter, looking around in shock. It was a weird feeling, not having the water constantly surrounding you. Instead, a small warm breeze wrapped around his bare shoulders, sending a chill down the young merman's spine.

Tadashi chuckled when Hiro glued himself to his side. "Come on," he jerked his head lightly, gesturing his brother forward. "Lemme show you my special spot."

* * *

Tadashi led Hiro towards a small cove. The sides of the rocks were filled with beautiful shells and anemones. The water was just deep enough for them to swim around without worrying about getting beached. Excitedly, Hiro dashed forward, splahing happily in the shallow water. "This is great, Tadashi," Hiro exclaimed. "How'd you find this place?"

"Found it with Fred the first time we came up," Tadashi explained. "No human's found it yet, so we kinda claimed it as our own." Smirking, he grabbed Hiro's arm and dragged him over to a large rock. "That's not the best part."

"What, what's the surprise?" Hiro asked curiously.

"Anytime now," Tadashi replied cheerfully. "Ah, now, watch, in five, four, three, two…"

Right on cue, the waters turned pink and orange as the glowing orb Hiro had heard about slowly rose from behind the waves. It's warm light chased away the shadows over the waters, casting a welcoming glow on the surface. The sky slowly turned from black, to purple, to blue. Hiro watched in fascination, eyes fixed on the ever-changing colors that surrounded him.

"It's called the Sun," Tadashi whispered.

"It's beautiful," Hiro breathed. "Amazing!" He hoisted himself up on the rock, with a little help from Tadashi. "And this happens every day?"

"Yup," Tadashi laughed. "Every time it turnd from night to day."

"That's amazing," Hiro sighed. "Humans are lucky they get to see this stuff every day."

"I'm sure that's what they would say about our palace, too," Tadashi said teasingly. "Now, come on. Let's look around a bit before we head back. Wouldn't wanna waste your first trip."

Nodding excitedly, Hiro dove off the rock and back into the waves, joining his older brother. He couldn't wait for whatever he would see next.

* * *

 **If you guys don't know what the thingamajig Fred had was, it's supposed to be an open ended wrench LOL**

 **Comment and follow! Send requests if you have any :)**

 **Also, quick reminder, each story will have a continuation, these aren't one-shots lol**

 **Also, NO SHIPS *just throwing that out there***


	4. Chapter 4: Pirate Treasure

**Another update yay! This is an idea that kinda just popped into my head (while I was watching Pirates of the Caribbean but shhhh...)**

* * *

Hiro could remember it all. The smells, the sounds, everything that happened that night.

"Hiro, don't come out until I tell you to, okay?"

"But, Dashi," he cried, grabbing on to his brother's sleeves, "they're still out there!"

"Don't worry, I'll protect you."

"But-"

His brother climbed out the hatch that they had hidden in with a quick reassuring "I'll be back." Shivering, Hiro curled up into a ball, hiding himself behind a barrel of potatoes.

He hated pirates.

They took his parents, they took his home, and that night, they took his brother.

It had been almost ten years since his parents fell victim to a merciless band of pirates. They had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were wealthy merchants that were on the way home from a particularly successful trade, wanting nothing more than to see their beloved sons again. However, that night, their carriage was attacked and Hiro never saw them again.

It was almost seven years since he last saw his brother. After his parents died, they were sent to a different village to live with their aunt. She lived by a port, owning a small café for passing sailors and travelers. That night, Aunt Cass had traveled to a nearby city to restock her kitchen. It had just been Hiro and his brother. It wasn't anything new; they had watched the home alone plenty of times. But that night, something was different.

It was late at night. Hiro had long since gone to bed. However, a little past midnight, he woke up to the smell of smoke.

And the sound of screaming.

Panicked, he bolted out of bed to shake awake his brother. He was already up, immediately rushing into action. Grabbing Hiro's hand, he ushered him downstairs, past the living room and past the kitchen. Opening the latch to the underground pantry, his brother pushed Hiro in, quickly closing the latch behind him. Just as the wooden latch closed, Hiro heard the wood of their front door break down. Loud and drunken roars erupted from behind the latch, running through the house. The thieves were no doubt pillaging their Aunt's priceless antiques, final gifts from their parents.

His brother had pressed himself close to Hiro, gently reassuring the younger, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly. Hiro squeaked in fear when he heard the drunken laughter got closer to their hiding place. His brother pressed one hand over his mouth, the other pressed against his own lips as a gesture for Hiro to stay quiet. Tears were streaming down Hiro's face, terror filling his body. Deep tremors shook his small frame as he struggled to keep his sobs quiet.

"Do ya 'ear that?" somebody drunkenly slurred. "I thought I 'eard a baby."

"Ya 'earing things, ol' man," somebody else laughed loudly. "'Tis probably jus'a mouse."

The pillagers laughed loudly and walked out of the kitchen. Hiro let out a sigh of relief when his brother dropped his hand. Then, he told him he would check outside to see if it was safe to leave.

And that was the last time Hiro ever saw his brother.

Aunt Cass found Hiro in the pantry the next day. He had fallen asleep in his uncomfortable position, still squeezing himself behind the barrel. He was shaken awake. When he opened his eyes, he saw his aunt's worried gaze shift to relief as she enveloped him in a deep hug. Sobs shook her body when she realized her baby boy was alright.

Or at least, one of them.

When he finally left the pantry, he was shocked to see the state of his home. Plates and tableware laid shattered on the floor. The chairs and table were all tipped over, thrown across the room carelessly. Aunt Cass covered his eyes and led him out of the house. He could still smell the smoke.

And that was when Aunt Cass told him that Tadashi was gone.

* * *

"Hiro, when will you stop staring out to the sea like that?"

Hiro Hamada rolled his eyes from his hidden perch by the dock. A large wooden beam that stretched across the roof of his aunt's café. His small size ensured that nobody could see him as they walked down the street. The only person that knew of his hiding spot was…

"What do you want, Max?"

Max Bay, the child of a long-term resident of his town, was his best friend. He had been the first person that befriended Hiro after Tadashi disappeared. Of course, the albino child was a topic of scorn by the nosy higher-class citizens of their small town. His pale physique and white hair was a common dinner conversation between those gossiping old ladies.

"Looking out like that won't get rid of your problem, you know," Max sniffed. "You won't be able to learn to swim unless you actually go out there."

"Sh-shut up!" Hiro stuttered, face glowing red. It was no secret that Hiro didn't know how to swim. His hatred for pirates made him fear the waters. He never wanted anything to do with that treacherous liquid. "I don't want to learn now to swim!"

"Are you thinking of… him again," Max asked quietly. The tall and rather large albino child tilted his chin up and said, "You really need to let it go, Hiro. All this moping isn't good for you."

"They never found a body, he could still be out there," Hiro urged. "Maybe those bandits took him as a slave, o-or he was seen by them and forced to run away, or-"

"Hiro, stop," his friend said forcefully. "It's been seven years."

"I know, I know," the fourteen-year-old grumbled. "I just… need to know…what really happened…"

Max shot Hiro a sympathetic glance. Hoping to distract his distraught friend, he said, "Hey, I don't get some of the questions they gave us in class. Can you explain it to me?"

"… Sure," Hiro sighed, climbing down from his perch. It was also no secret that Hiro was smart. Smarter than your everyday kid. He spent all his free time reading books from the small library nestled between the grocers and the butcher. At the rate he was reading, he would most likely finish all the books before he turned sixteen.

"Thanks," Max said gratefully, helping his smaller friend down. "I don't know how you can figure all this stuff out, you must be a real genius."

"Seven years of knowing me and you still say that," Hiro scoffed, brushing off dust from his ragged pants when his feet made contact with the dirt floor. "Come on, let's get this done with."

* * *

"Thanks, buddy, you really helped me this time!" Max laughed loudly, thudding Hiro's back happily.

Hiro jerked forward with each hit, mentally noting to tell Max to watch his strength ( _again_ ), he coughed, "Glad to help."

After waving goodbye to his friend, he opened the door to his home, calling out, "Aunt Cass, I'm home!"

His aunt's slender figure was facing a customer, but she whipped around immediately when she heard her nephew walk in. "We-welcome home, dear!" she stuttered. "I'll be right with you, okay, Hon?"

"Is that your youngest nephew?" and unfamiliar voice chuckled from behind her.

Aunt Cass turned quickly and glared at her "customer." At this point, Hiro was pretty sure she knew him. "He has nothing to do with this," she snapped. This was the first time Hiro ever heard her so mad. Not even when he dropped her most prized teapot. "Now you and your crew need to leave our town before the navy gets called in."

"Look, ma'am, I'm just looking for some information," the guest chuckled. He had dark skin was dressed in some rather high quality clothes. He smiled kindly at Hiro. "He's grown, hasn't he?"

"That's none of your concern," Cass replied tersely, wrapping her arms around her nephew protectively. "Hiro, go to your room for a bit, will you?" she asked gently, pushing him towards the stairs.

Nodding slowly, he couldn't take his eyes off the strange man. He smiled at Hiro, waving goodbye. Hiro bristled. That wave felt more mocking than polite.

Climbing the stairs halfway, he turned the corner and sat on the stairs, listening in to the conversation. His aunt was too wrapped up with the stranger's presence that she didn't bother checking to see if Hiro had actually gone. "Like I said," she hissed through gritted teeth, "you and the rest of your stinking pirate gang can go."

Hiro stiffened. _Pirates_? Fear and hatred coursed through his body. He balled up his fists, willing himself to sit still.

"Come on, Cass, don't be like that," the stranger said soothingly. "My dad said you used to be really close with pirates. I just need a bit of information, that's all."

"I used to," she replied coldly, "until you attacked my home and destroyed my family."

The stranger didn't reply. "They didn't know," he finally said quietly.

"Well, it's too late for that," Cass hissed. Storming to the door, she opened it and said, "I used to give pirates the information they needed for quests. And you repay me by killing my brother and sister and taking my oldest nephew."

"We didn't mean to-"

"Get out," Cass said coldly. "Leave. Now!"

The stranger stood and walked to the door. He turned and looked at Cass. Cass crossed her arms, blocking entrance into her home with her body. The stranger's eyes flicked up, briefly making eye contact with Hiro. The stranger smiled, put on his hat, then turned and left.

Cass slammed the door shut, sighed and ran her hand through her hair. Hiro could see tears forming in her eyes as she turned and hurried to the kitchen.

Hiro carefully crept up the rest of the stairs and entered his room, his mind in turmoil. Pirates. Aunt Cass. Information. Attack.

 _Tadashi_.

A mad idea formed in his head. _Maybe_ , he thought, _if I could somehow get on that pirate ship… maybe I can find some information about Tadashi!_

It was a crazy idea, really. There was no way it could possibly work. But from the window, Hiro could see the ocean and the dock. He could see one ship that didn't belong, one ship that didn't match the rest of the navy ships.

 _That's where I'll find my answers_ , Hiro decided. _That's where I can finally get more information on Tadashi._

Digging through his half of the room, he found his burlap bag and began filling it with things that he may need, extra clothes, books to read, et cetera… He shot a quick glance at the untouched corner of his room, the only clean side to the small space he occupied.

Tadashi's side.

Closing his eyes, he shook his head. "He's not dead," he recited out loud. "They never found a body. He's not dead."

Hearing footsteps on the stairs, Hiro quickly covered his bag with a small quilt. Jumping onto his bed, he grabbed several books, flipped them all open to random pages, and set it up to look like he had been reading them all at once. Of course, he had done this before. Successfully.

"Hiro?" His aunt called through the door. "I'm coming in, okay?"

"Yeah, come in, Aunt Cass," Hiro called back.

The door opened slowly. His aunt walked in, smiling and holding a small plate of food. "How was your day, sweetie?" she asked, setting the food down on the only available space on his table.

Hiro shrugged. "Fine," he replied nonchalantly. "Hung out with Max, went to the library… they have some new books. I was gonna check them out, but I finished them in a few hours."

Aunt Cass chuckled. "That's my brilliant little man," she crooned, stroking her hand aimlessly through his bird nest of hair.

"It was some new stuff," he said excitedly, "something about the theory of evolution."

"Oh really?" Cass laughed. "Do you believe it?"

Another shrug. "He made some good arguments," Hiro admitted.

They sat in silence, Hiro flipping through books he had read already and Cass absentmindedly working out the knots in her nephew's messy hair. "Look," she sighed after a bit. "I'm sorry about what you saw back then with…"

"That pirate?" Hiro said casually. Or at least, as casual as he could fake it. His grip on his book tightened, and he began to shake, in fury and rage.

"Yes, him," Cass sighed. "I didn't think they would come back, especially after they-"

"Took Tadashi?" Hiro finished for her.

"Yes, that," Cass replied tensely.

"It's fine," Hiro shrugged. "As long as they stay away, I'm fine."

"Right… Honey," Cass looked at him worriedly. "Please promise me that you won't go looking for trouble."

"Wh-what do you mean,"Hiro stuttered. He didn't expect her to see through him that quickly. Or that easily.

"Please," Aunt Cass scoffed. "I've known you since the day you were born and raised you for ten years. I know when you get crazy ideas in your head."

"Well, don't worry," Hiro lied. "I'm not planning anything stupid. Promise."

Guilt welled up inside him when his aunt beamed at him.

* * *

It was past midnight. Hiro was wide awake, staring blankly at his dark ceiling. As much as he didn't want his aunt to worry, he also needed closure on what really happened to his brother seven years ago. Sighing, he reached under his bed and pulled out his bag. Grabbing his shoes to slip on later, he tiptoed down the stairs, making sure to avoid that one creaky step, third step on the second flight. Going into the kitchen to grab some rations before setting out, he was surprised when he saw food set on the table already. Neatly packed loaves of bread, cheese and apples sat there, waiting for him to take. A folded piece of paper rested in front of the food. Reaching over, Hiro opened the note and read:

 _Hiro,_

 _Knowing you, you probably aren't going to listen and you're going to sneak on to the pirate ship tonight. As much as I disagree with what you're doing, I can't stop you from finding out the truth._

 _Just remember that I love you, and I will always have my doors open for you and your brother. Find him and tell him to come home. To our family._

 _Love,_

 _Aunt Cass_

A lump formed in Hiro's throat. Obviously, his lie hadn't slipped by his aunt. Whispering a grateful "thank you," he swiped the food into his bag and walked to the door. Sending one last mournful glance at his home, he smiled as all the old memories came back to him. The stain on the rug when Tadashi spilled the tea he was carrying, the burn in the floorboard when Hiro accidentally dropped a candle (thankfully, Aunt Cass put it out before their house burned down), the one mismatched pillow from the furniture set (since Hiro threw up on the original pillow when he was sick one night)… All those memories made Hiro second-guess his decision.

Just for a second.

Sighing one last time, he slipped on his shoes, opened the door and slipped into the night.

* * *

"Hiro, wait!"

Stiffening, Hiro looked over his shoulder cautiously. Max was waddling over to him, panting as though he had ran for miles, when it was only a few yards. "You weren't gonna leave without saying goodbye, were you?" he huffed, bending over to catch his breath.

"What are you doing here?" Hiro hissed. "Shouldn't you be at home?"

Max ignored him and worked on slowing down his breathing. "I saw that nicely dressed guy leave your house," he told Hiro (for what reason, he couldn't fathom). "Dad told me pirates would dress nice to trick people, and I knew you were gonna go after them." He gave Hiro a worried look. "Are you seriously going?"

"… Yeah," Hiro sighed after a bit. "I'm sorry, Max, I just really need to know what happened. I can't keep living as though those nights never happened."

"B-but you can't even swim!" Max fretted. "What are you gonna do if they throw you overboard for stowing away? On a _pirate_ ship?"

"I'll think of something," Hiro waved away his friend's worry. "I don't expect you to approve of what I'm doing, Max, but can you at least trust me to get things done? I promise I'll come back. Safe. With Tadashi."

"What if you don't!" Max fussed. "What if they kill you right there, no questions asked?"

"Then, I'll fight," Hiro replied firmly. "I'm not giving up until I find out what happened to Tadashi."

Max stared at his friend as though he had sprout antlers. Finally, he sighed and said, "I _really_ don't like this," he worried, "but it's your choice. But, just promise me." Max grabbed Hiro's hand and looked at him solemnly. "Promise me you'll come back. Safe. _Alive_."

"Promise," Hiro nodded, smiling gently at his friend. Max nodded back and smiled sadly. Letting go of Hiro's hand, he waved as his friend walked away towards the dock. Hiro stopped, and before he left, called back, "You know, for someone who can't figure out simple math, you sure put together the pieces for that pirate at my place really quickly."

* * *

Hiro silently crept through the dock, looking for that one ship he had seen from his window. The only boat with a black flag. It hadn't been the grandest boat. Heck, it looked like it was going to fall apart anytime. But that flag was the give away. The only thing that showed it was a pirate ship.

Hiding in the shadows, he flinched when he heard the wooden dock creak. Muffled footsteps made their way towards his position. Somebody was coming.

Without thinking, he quickly climbed on board of the closest ship, pulling up the latch and quickly climbing in. Hearing the footsteps disappear, he let out a breath of relief.

Until he heard movement above him.

Holding his breath, he slowly shuffled over to the corner, pulling a barrel in front of him (he was getting a strange sense of dejavu…). He clenched his eyes shut, hoping that whoever was up there wouldn't cast off just yet.

"When are we leaving?" a bored female voice asked. "Wasabi said the info with Cass was a bust, she won't say anything."

"Just a little longer," an elder man's voice chuckled. "Captain's still roaming around out there. Don't know what he sees in this town."

"He said it was something about his childhood," the female voice drawled. "Which is why we have to come back and visit this dump every year."

"Now, now Gogo," the man said sternly. "Our Captain is a great man and we will treat the things he loves with respect." Gogo snorted.

"Hey, Cap's back!" an excited, younger male voice called out. "We can cast off now!"

Captain? Despite his fears, he felt excitement course through his veins. By some lucky chance, he had found the pirate ship! Now he just had to wait for them all to fall asleep and he would look around. Sneak into the captain's office and see if he could find any old entries of slave trade. And once he found information on his brother, he would steal (no, stealing is what a pirate does… how about, temporarily borrow?) a lifeboat and row back to another town.

This was going to be easy.

* * *

 **Review, requests, like, favorite, you guys get it ^^**


	5. Chapter 5: Kitsune's Tale

**If you guys didn't see from Another Tomorrow, basically I got a new laptop and lost all the information and research I had made for all the story arcs TvT it took a while, which is why I didn't update in forever**

 **But I'm back! With a new chapter!**

 **And again, for those that are curious, I will continue each arc, there are NOT one-shots. However, if you want to write your own story, go ahead and write it! Just send it to me, so I can read it too xD**

 **With all that said, enjoy this second chapter of the Kitsune arc!**

* * *

 **Kitsune**

Chapter 2: Almost

Tadashi woke up early, ready to begin the regular morning routine he and Cass had every morning.

First, fold his futon and place it back in the closet. Hiro would no doubt still be asleep (blankets strewn everywhere, tails sticking out and snoring loudly), and Tadashi would usually give him a few more minutes before being forced to wake him up. Usually with force (such as ripping the futon out from under him, or dumping cold water on him, but last time he did that, it didn't end so well and he had to promise never to do that again.) He would then fold up Hiro's futons as well, while his younger brother sat by the wall, already starting to nod off and fighting to stay awake.

Then, he would drag his sleepy brother with him to the bathroom to splash some water on their faces to fully wake up (or in Hiro's case, dump him in the bathtub filled with cold water.) Aunt Cass would be up by then and she would be working to prepare breakfast for the two. Usually, Hiro would be chasing Tadashi to the kitchen, angrily yelling about the cold water while Tadashi laughed until tears streamed down his face. Aunt Cass would smack both of them, scolding them about creating a ruckus so early in the morning, before giving up and laughing along with them.

The makeshift family would eat their breakfast, Hiro would ramble on about some new idea that he thought about, and Tadashi and Aunt Cass would laugh and tease him about all his previous failed inventions. Then, Aunt Cass would prepare to open her café, Tadashi would wash the dishes and Hiro would dry the clean plates.

Today, however, was different. Aunt Cass had to travel to the nearby town to replenish on groceries (the traveling merchants hadn't had to much to offer the last time they came.) She had breakfast prepared on the table and some money placed next to it, in case she wasn't back by nighttime.

Since Aunt Cass was away, the café would stay closed. Tadashi decided to let Hiro have a day off, especially considering the amount of stress they had both had the day before. Instead of waking him up, Tadashi let his brother stay asleep.

He decided to spend the day cleaning instead. After finishing his share of breakfast, he got the broom from the storage closet and exited his home. It was such a beautiful day, so he decided to sweep out the dust on the doorstep first. Since it looked like it was going to be a slow day and nobody was walking down the road, he decided it would be safe to just hide his tail and ears. He honestly hated transforming into a girl, it was absolutely humiliating (Hiro would always end up laughing hysterically whenever Tadashi changed.) Hiro didn't share the same mindset, he just thought it was funny that Tadashi was so uncomfortable.

He breathed out a sigh of content, looking up at the bright blue sky. It was just so nice out today, he couldn't _not_ be happy.

Compared to the weather on that day…

Tadashi shuddered, a chill going down his spine. _Stop it_ , he chided himself. _It's the past. Hiro's alive. You're alive. That's all that matters, nothing else._

And yet… the memories still started pouring back. The smoke, the screaming, the _fire_...

"Yo, is Cass in today?"

Tadashi was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when a familiar voice interrupted his train of thought. Whipping around, he was shocked to see the group of people that had entered the café the night before.

Oh no. They were looking at him. Without his disguise.

"Who're you?" Gogo asked suspiciously. "I know the lady has two nieces, but she never mentioned a son."

"I'm… her cleaner," Tadashi made up on the spot. "She and Tomoe are out for the day and I'm here to clean up the café and watch Haru."

"Hmm" was all Gogo responded with, still squinting at him accusingly.

"Aww, she's out?" Honey Lemon sighed sadly. "We were gonna ask her for more information about kitsune…"

"W-what makes you think she knows anything?" Tadashi stuttered, panicking a little. There's no way they got this close from just one night.

"Well if we don't ask her, we were gonna corner the other little girl," Wasabi admitted, much to Tadashi's anger. "Haru, was it? She seems to know more than she's saying."

"Well, she's not here," Tadashi snapped defensively. "And Haru's still asleep. You can come back later, maybe she'll talk with you so you don't have to 'corner' her."

"I guess," Gogo growled. "But why are _you_ getting so defensive? Do you," she pulled out the kunai from last night threateningly "know something?"

"No," Tadashi replied blankly. "Now I advise you to all leave, before I have to _make_ you leave."

"Are you threatening us?" Gogo hissed, stalking forward to get in Tadashi's face.

"Enough!" Wasabi shouted, pushing the two people apart. "Gogo, stand down," he ordered, sending a glare back at his seething friend. He bowed to Tadashi and sincerely said, "I apologize if my colleagues or I insulted you. We'll leave you and Haru at peace."

"Good," Tadashi huffed, turning and walking back into the café. His perfect day was ruined.

* * *

"What was that?" Wasabi hissed, blocking Gogo's path. They had traveled a few yards away from the café, and he wanted answers. "I agreed to help you find those monsters, but I did _not_ agree to terrorize innocent bystanders!"

"That kid knows something!" Gogo spat. "And I'm getting answers! Even if I have to push a few people around!"

"What proof do you have that he knows something?" Wasabi growled exasperatedly. "All you did was insult the guy, and now he probably won't tell us anything!"

"Maybe we should check out another city," Honey Lemon offered, "Lie low for a bit and wait till Cass comes back."

"Then we'll lose our only lead!" Gogo threw her hands up in frustration. "Come on guys, we've searched for _months_ now! Both the girl and that kid just now know something! How much do you bet the older sister has something up her sleeves too!"

"I mean," Fred rubbed his neck nervously, "she's not wrong… That little girl might know something."

"Well, I'm not gonna go knocking on the door of an innocent family," Wasabi huffed. "If you still wanna do this, then we get out of here for a few days. Otherwise," he made an X with his arms, "I'm terminating our partnership."

"You wouldn't," Gogo snarled.

"Watch me."

"Whoa!" Fred quickly jumped in between his two arguing companions. "Guys, let's just take a step back and calm down a bit." Gogo huffed and turned, crossing her arms. "Gogo, maybe he's right," Fred tried to reason. "Maybe we should back down a bit. If we try to force the information out of her, she'll clam up. Be too scared to say anything. Plus, she has that sister and their bodyguard, so if we go barging in, she won't say a word to us."

"But-"

"We'll come back when Cass comes back," Fred said definitively. "Go back to that town we stayed in last night."

"Come on, Gogo," Honey Lemon looked at the other girl pleadingly. "If you _are_ right about this, we don't want to go in recklessly."

"… I guess," she finally grumbled. "But we come back first thing tomorrow!"

"Fine," Wasabi snorted. "If they don't want to say anything to us, we _leave_ , got it?"

"Yes, _sir_ ," Gogo muttered scathingly, grumbling as they (though in her case, reluctantly) trudged back they way they came.

* * *

"Morning, Dashi," Hiro yawned, sleepily shuffling out of their room.

"It's already noon, bonehead," Tadashi chuckled. "Aunt Cass is out for the day."

"That would probably explain why you let me sleep till this late," Hiro replied as he stretched his arms above his head. "When will she be back?"

"If it's anything like her last few trips, tonight probably," the older boy shrugged. "Latest tomorrow morning."

"What were you doing up so early then?" Hiro asked, brushing out the uneven fur on one of his tails. The fur, like his hair, was constantly a mess. Tadashi didn't know how many times he had to tackle him down to even out the chaotic tangles, only for them to reappear again after less than a minute. How Hiro managed to mess up his hard work, he still had yet to know.

"Cleaned a bit," he reported. "Did some sweeping in the front and inside the store. Did you fold your futons?"

"Yup," Hiro yawned again, trying (and failing) to flatten out his bedhead. "Why would you clean on a day off?"

"Nothing else to do, I guess."

"You're boring," Hiro decided. "I would've gone out and started working on my new invention."

"Oh yeah?" Tadashi snorted. "And what invention is that, Mr. Sleep-till-noon?"

"Can't tell you," was his answer. "But I'll tell you this much. It'll be quite a _boom_ when I finish."

"Whatever you say, little bro," Tadashi chuckled. "Just don't come running to me when you need help."

"Of course not," Hiro huffed. Murmuring a quick "thanks" when Tadashi set up his breakfast/lunch, he looked at his brother and tipped his head to the side. "Something bugging you, Dashi?"

"What? Of course not," the older brother answered, a little too quickly.

Hiro raised a brow and stared at him. Tadashi was seriously going to keep a secret. From _him_ , of all people. "You can tell me, you know," he stated casually. "Is it the questions I asked last night?"

"No," he replied forcefully. Sure, Hiro could be a headache sometimes, but to say that he bugged him was something else completely. Nothing his little brother says or does would ever annoy him. Make him freak out every once in a while, yes, but never annoy.

"Then tell me," Hiro demanded. "What's on your mind?"

"Those hunters from last night came back while I was cleaning the front of the store," Tadashi finally sighed. "They came by asking about us again. Something you did must've made them suspicious, cuz they came by asking for you."

"Oh," was all Hiro said. He ate in silence for a few seconds, before murmuring, "Sorry."

"It's not you're fault," Tadashi insisted. "We should've seen it coming. It's my fault for convincing Aunt Cass to let us work a day."

"If I hadn't reacted the way I did, they wouldn't be bothering us," Hiro sighed dejectedly, his ears drooping miserably.

"You were nervous, don't beat yourself up," Tadashi soothed. "Besides," he snorted, "you were a hideous waitress."

Hiro's twin tails puffed up in indignation. "I was not!"

"The old ladies that work at that udon stand in town look better than you," Tadashi scoffed, laughing when Hiro started throwing a tantrum. Mock fighting with his brother as though nothing were wrong almost made him forget about the situation from earlier that morning.

Almost.

* * *

Alistair Krei walked down the dirt road, angrily swatting a buzzing fly from his face. Usually he didn't go out on the field. He sent his foot soldiers to go instead.

But this time, he needed to see it with his own eyes.

Which is why he took the painstaking trip from Europe to Japan, enduring the rocking boat and the disgusting smells for weeks, almost months. When he finally reached land, he vowed to find a faster and less nauseating way to get to the small island.

The reason for his trip this time was simple, yet completely different from his usual reasons. Of course, the news of the Japanese working with monsters, gaining fame and fortune beyond any man's wildest dreams had traveled to his city pretty fast with the help of gossiping travelers. He usually cared little for such gossip, as gossiping was for the commoners and he, by no means, was a commoner. In fact, he was rich enough, and had enough companies built under his name to be called a king! Also, even though it was extremely popular in the upper class, he never liked dabbling with the supernatural. It was his belief that all the talk about spirits and ghost would bring him bad luck, and destroy his empire. However, the last time his informants reported back to him, he heard of a small shop in the middle of nowhere suddenly gaining great success.

All signs pointed to the kitsune, which should be impossible, seeing as his first order of business after learning of the treaty that had been made was to wipe out every kitsune village. He couldn't have any enemies possibly gain an upper hand on him, now could he?

It was easy tracking down each village. Despite all the work the kitsunes put into hiding themselves, he had gotten an inside source to give up each location. And with the recent appearance of firearms and cannons, the foxes didn't stand a chance. He even hired some rounin to cut down any that tried to escape. From what his soldiers told him, the monsters were all wiped out in an instant. All while he was sitting in his office, sipping on a cup of freshly made fine wine directly imported from Italy.

He never dreamed that letting the few that got away live would come back to haunt him.

Alistair Krei was not a heartless man. To be fair, he really did feel bad for what he had down. However, after having a meeting with his council, he decided that the best choice, for the benefit of the future of his company and the benefit of his wealth, would be to make sure that no one could stand in his way. It took him years to create the empire he has now, and he didn't want any monsters helping some lucky peasant strike it rich in one day.

And so, he was here, in Japan, completely and hopelessly lost. He had tried asking people for help (as he had learned some conversational Japanese before leaving on that boat and had months of practice with the returning Japanese citizens) but no one could point him in the right direction. They all said the same thing: "The shop just appears out of nowhere, no one knows the exact location." This may be mystical to some, but it was nothing but trouble for Krei. Those damn foxes must be hiding their tracks well.

He panted as the road started leading uphill. Dispite his muscular build, Alistair was a man meant to be in a nice, big office, not outdoors. He would already feel his silk robes getting ruined with dust and sweat. The large hat he had bought at the port did little to cool him down.

A group of people appeared in front of him, heading in the opposite direction. They were a queer group indeed. Two of them seemed to be from the same place he was from. However, one of them had dark skin, while the other was Asian, but not Japanese. They certainly stood out from the rest of the people in this country.

As he walked past them, he heard the short, Asian girl say, "What if when we go back, they bolt?"

The man with blond hair much like his own snorted, "If that's their home, I'm pretty sure they won't leave. Besides, maybe if we ask nicely, they'll tell us what they know about kitsunes."

Alistair froze. Did that young man just say what he thought he said?

The blonde girl sighed wistfully and said, "Oh, I really hope they help us. We've been looking for some signs of the foxes for _ever_ now!"

They did! These children know something!

"Wait!" Alistair turned and called back to them. All of the members of the group turned, looking at him quizzically. The Asian girl merely turned her head lazily and glared at him, as though saying "this better be good."

"Are you all hunters?" he asked.

"They are," the blond boy pointed at the Asian girl and the dark skinned boy. "Honey and I are just tagging along… for research purposes."

"Can we help you sir?" the dark skinned man asked politely.

"Yes, actually," he sighed in relief. Finally, he was getting somewhere! "Where was it, that you said you saw the kitsunes?"

"Well… we didn't exactly _see_ them," the blond boy admitted, "but we think we found some people that could tell us something about them."

"And who are they?"

"This little family owned café down the path," the Asian girl jabbed her thumb down the path they were leaving from. "Two girls and a woman. She's out for the day with the older girl and the younger one has a babysitter watching her."

"Just keep travelling that way for a mile or two," the blonde girl also pointed in the same direction. "You'll see it. Hard to miss, it's the only stand you'll see for miles."

* * *

"Ah, it looks like it's gonna rain."

"What?" Tadashi looked up from the dishes he was washing. "That's impossible, there wasn't a cloud in site this morning!" That put a damper on his mood. He had set all the futons out to air out earlier that afternoon, and was planning on helping Aunt Cass get ahead on laundry later.

Hiro nodded towards the window. "There are clouds coming, see?"

"Huh," Tadashi peered out the open window. "Would you look at that… It was so sunny earlier."

"Hopefully none get in this time," Hiro mumbled through a rice cracker. "Last time it almost ruined Aunt Cass's tatami mats."

"Yeah, the wind blew the water past the eaves," Tadashi muttered. "Think you can invent something that'll keep that from happening."

"On it," Hiro shot up fro the cushion he was laying on. "After this one."

"The rain probably means Aunt Cass won't be back until tomorrow afternoon," Tadashi mused. "Shop's probably gonna be closed tomorrow too."

"Yes!" Hiro pumped his fists into the air. "Two free days."

"Oh, relax, you big baby, you've only worked one shift," Tadashi snorted.

"And it's tiring!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he laughed. "Come on, let's get the futons in before it starts pouring."

* * *

What rotten luck. Shortly after departing with the group of youngsters, Alistair felt extremely excited for finally getting a clue. However, as soon as he hiked up that slope, the bright, sunny sky suddenly turned dark. He looked up, cursing when the first drop landed on his face. He never once considered rain, and didn't bother purchasing an umbrella with his other purchases at the port.

Making a run for it, he couldn't believe his bad luck when the small drops turned larger with each stride, until it was an outright downpour. He was soaked within seconds. There was no way his silk robes would survive after this storm.

It was so dark that Alistair couldn't even see his own hands in front of his face. He was in such rural parts of the country that there weren't any lanterns lit to light his path. All he could do was charge forward and hope to either run into the café he was looking for, or at least a cottage with some sympathetic homeowners.

Suddenly, in the distance, he saw a faint flicker of light. It was faint, but it was something. Alistair ran faster, grimacing as his sandals slopped through the mud. Reaching the light, he realized it was a little café. There was a bench out front for patrons to sit and enjoy the weather with their tea with a folded up umbrella over it. The eaves were streaming down rainwater.

Quickly moving under the eave, he patted down his sleeves, cursing at the ruined silk. Knocking loudly on the door, he called out, "Excuse me, is anyone home?"

Nothing. Then, the door slowly slid open a crack. A small boy, no older than ten-years-old, peeked out at him. "Yes?" he whispered quietly.

"Hi," Alistair said as patiently as he could. He never liked children. He saw himself more of a businessman, destined to die surrounded by his wealth. He never thought he would need to make an effort to like the small parasites. "Is your mother or father home?"

The boy looked at him cautiously, then turned and called "Dashi!" Another boy, a lot older than the younger one that answered the door, showed up next to him. He leaned down and whispered something into the younger one's ear. The younger one nodded and disappeared into the room. The older boy crossed his arms and leaned against the door. "What can I do for you, sir?"

"Are your parents home?" Alistair tried again patiently. He was a businessman after all, the master of patience.

"No," the boy replied flatly. "How can I help you?"

"Well, as you can see," Alistair replied, losing some of his well composed patience, "it's raining quite a bit at the moment."

"I can see that," the boy replied sarcastically, eyeing the soaked robes he had draped over his body. This brat.

"And I was wondering," Alistair tried, "if you would be kind enough to let me stay for the night?" The boy hesitated, eyes shifting nervously behind him for a split second. "I only wish to room for a night, I'll be gone first thing as soon as the rain stops," he promised.

The boy sighed, then finally said, "Fine." He pushed the sliding door open a little further. "Hiro!" he called as Alistair carefully made his way into the room (he didn't want to drip too much water on his patron's floors), "Set up the futon in the extra room!"

"Got it!" came the faint reply from further into the building.

"Wait here," the older boy ordered, moving to close the door behind him. "I'll bring you some towels so you don't drip all over the floor."

"Thank you, Mr.…"

"… Tadashi," the boy replied, slightly reluctantly. "Just Tadashi."

"Well, Tadashi," the European man bowed slightly. "My name is Alistair Krei. I am visiting your country for a business trip."

"Aren't you a bit far from home, Mr. Krei?" Tadashi asked, murmuring a quick "thanks" when his younger brother brought in a stack of towels. "Don't you have people that do this type of work for you?"

"Usually," Alistair admitted, gratefully taking the towels, "But what's life without a bit of travel?"

"Well," Tadashi sighed, leading Alistair to the room he would be staying in, "I can't make you a meal, unfortunately, so if you're hungry you'll have to wait till you get to the next town."

"That's fine." He had eaten a little on the road, and the rather nauseating trip here had taken a little over half of his appetite.

"You'll be staying here tonight," Tadashi opened the door to the spare room. The futon had been neatly set, and nothing in the world looked more welcoming to Alistair. "And as you promised, as soon as the rain stops, you leave, okay?"

"Understood," Alistair chuckled. "Goodnight," he called out as Tadashi exited the room. Settling all his belongings down, he sighed and thanked anything he could think of for his luck. Thank god he had found this small home before being washed away.

"Um… excuse me," a small, timid voice called through the paper door.

"Come in!"

The door slid open, revealing the younger child that had answered the door before Tadashi took over. "I have extra blankets and towels for you," he said quietly.

"Thank you child," Alistair replied appreciatively. "And what's your name, little one?" he asked as he rubbed his hair with a towel.

"H-Hiro," the child stuttered.

"Well, Hiro," Alistair chuckled, "why are you and your brother alone in this part of the country? Isn't it dangerous to be this far away from civilization?"

Hiro looked behind him nervously. "Tadashi would be mad if I told you…"

Alistair smiled kindly. "You can tell me."

"Actually, he should be going to bed."

Hiro jumped a foot in the air before sheepishly turning around to look at his extremely enraged brother. Mumbling "good night," he scrambled away as quickly as possible. Tadashi gave Alistair a warning glare before sliding the door closed. The lights outside the room went out as well.

Alistair let out a breath and laid down on the futon. It had been a long day, and he wanted to get some rest before getting up and traveling again.

There was one thing he couldn't get out of his head. From what those kids told him, he should've either passed the café, or at least gotten some sign of it already.

They told him one woman, two girls and one boy. All he had right now was two boys. Nothing added up.

Unless…

The girl and the boy were one and the same.

What did the Asian girl say again? Something about the woman being out? And kitsunes _do_ have the ability to shape shift. Changing their appearance to that of a female would be no problem. So, assuming the older boy and the older girl were the same person, meaning the younger girl would also be the same as the younger boy, that would make everything add up. Which could only mean one thing.

He was rooming with not one, but _two_ kitsunes.

Grinning, he stretched his hands behind his head. This was going to be interesting.

* * *

"Don't talk to that guy while he's here, Hiro," Tadashi growled, aggressively setting out their futons for the night. "I've got a bad feeling about him."

"Sorry," Hiro sighed, lying down on his bedding as Tadashi seethed around the room. "What do you think he's here for?"

"I don't know," Tadashi snorted. "But it's nothing good." He sighed and collapsed onto his own futon. "With all the people that are coming by, I'm starting to think we should leave, get out of town and start traveling again."

"I guess," Hiro muttered. "But… then we would have to leave Aunt Cass, right?"

Tadashi didn't say anything. He didn't have to.

Hiro sighed. "We'll have to tell her tomorrow."

"It's not for sure yet," Tadashi reassured him. "Who knows? Maybe after this Krei guy leaves, everything will go back to the way it was before. We can go back to pretending we're normal. And no more working, since that's how this whole mess started."

"I don't know, Dashi," the younger boy sighed again. "I still want to stay with Aunt Cass, that hasn't changed. But if we have to leave to stay together, then I'm fine with that, I guess…"

"Wow," his older brother laughed. "You'd give up this comfortable life style just to stay with me?" He jokingly placed his hands over his heart. "I'm touched."

"Shut up," Hiro snorted, throwing his pillow at Tadashi. The older boy laughed and dodged, tossing the pillow lightly back to the younger. "You're the only family I have left," Hiro mumbled, catching the pillow. "I'd rather go on the run with you than stay safe alone."

Tadashi chuckled, ruffling his brother's hair gently. "Thanks bud," he laughed. "I love you too."

"S-shut up," Hiro stuttered, his face turning red.

"Alright, little bro," Tadashi moved over to his futon. "Time to go to bed."

"Yup!" Hiro climbed under the blankets, a large yawn breaking across his face.

"And remember," Tadashi said sternly. "Keep your tails and ears hidden if you get up in the middle of the night."

"Got it."

"Well then, good night, little brother."

"Night, Dashi!"

The light from the lantern in the room went off and the brothers were plunged into darkness. Of course, they could still see, but Tadashi fell asleep almost immediately. He was always the early bird, while Hiro was the night owl.

Said night owl sighed, folding his hands behind his head. He honestly didn't know what to do anymore. He knew he messed when he panicked in front of those hunters yesterday. In fact, that night, he could barely sleep because he kept thinking about what he could've done to make things different.

But could this really be a coincidence? That right after a group of hunters appears, another man that may be more trouble appears right after? He knew that Tadashi was right, the only way he could keep the only two people in his life safe was to leave. Get out of town and find another place to settle down. Asking Aunt Cass to leave with them would be asking her too much. After all, she had given up everything to start this café, and she wouldn't just leave it out of nowhere.

He, of course, did have another plan. It was beyond risky, but it would keep their "family" together. It did require some heavy planning, but Hiro was willing to go through all the trouble to keep Aunt Cass and Tadashi both in his life. However, even if he told Tadashi, he was sure that his older brother would just smile and not say anything.

Again, he didn't have to.

* * *

 **Thank you for being patient everyone! My other stories are getting updated soon (hopefully TvT) and I'll be sure to baCK THEM UP THIS TIME**

 **Like, comment, review, all that good stuff**


	6. Chapter 6: Hiro in Wonderland

**This might be familiar to some people ^^ (actually it should be, it's one of the most iconic stories EVER)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Hiro! Are you skipping classes again?"

Hiro looked up lazily from behind the book that was resting on his face. His aunt stood over him angrily, hands placed on her hips.

"Sorry, Aunt Cass," the eleven-year-old yawned, rolling over to the other side. The book slid off his face and closed shut besides his head. "It's so boring in that room. Besides, I already know all the stuff they're teaching."

"Oh, really now," his aunt huffed angrily. "Recite the passage that your class is studying then."

Without skipping a beat, Hiro monotoned:

"'Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!'

He took his vorpal sword in hand; Long time the manxome foe he sought— So rested he by the Tumtum tree And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came!"

"Is that enough, or do you want me to say the whole thing," he sighed, closing his eyes and enjoying the warmth of the sunlight streaming through the leaves of the tree he had chosen to lay under.

"That's… well… I mean," his aunt spluttered, lost for words. He had, of course, recited the excerpt of _Jabberwocky_ perfectly, and it left her stunned. Finally, she sighed. "I do wish you would attempt to make some friends, honey," she said forlornly. "Tadashi wouldn't like to see you alone all the time."

The mention of his older brother made his chest clench in pain. "It's that nerd's fault for leaving to study abroad in Paris," he growled into his arm, not turning to look at his aunt. He didn't want to see the disappointment in her face. "I'm sure he's having a great time learning to be a doctor," he mumbled sarcastically.

"Hiro Hamada, don't speak of your brother in that tone of voice," Aunt Cass scolded him gently. "You know that Tadashi's always dreamed of becoming a doctor, and if he has to leave home to do that, then I don't see why not."

"He could at least write back to see how we're doing," Hiro murmured lowly, unable to hide the sadness in his voice.

His aunt heard it too. The two stayed silent, listening to the wind rustle the leaves and flatten the grass. Finally, his aunt sighed again and said, "Don't be late for tea."

"Got it," he called back to her sleepily, without realizing that she was long gone. Rolling onto his back, he tucked his arms under his head, staring at the bright blue sky. It was true, Tadashi had always wanted to be a doctor. Specifically ever since their parents died in a chariot accident. Hiro couldn't remember much about it, but considering the significant age gap between him and his brother, it was no surprise Tadashi would be the most affected. From what his aunt explained to him, Tadashi didn't want people dying earlier than they had to since the trauma of their parents' death. So, naturally, as soon as he was given the opportunity, he took it and decided to leave with some friends to France, leaving what was left of his family in a little countryside by London. Aunt Cass had encouraged him to do what it took to fulfill his dreams, but Hiro hadn't been shy to voice his thoughts, which were that Tadashi was being selfish and self-seeking. As punishment, he was sent to his room for the rest of the day, which happened to be the same day Tadashi was set to leave for France. His aunt told him he could come out to say goodbye, which he had stubbornly refused. To say that the brothers' last conversation was a bad one would be an understatement.

Of course, now, almost half a year later, Hiro came to regret all the mean words he had thrown at his brother, especially considering that they were the last. Tadashi never even got a goodbye from his little brother, and to this day, Hiro never thought he could feel remorse for something more. The days without his brother by his side were, in a sense, pointless and boring. Nothing Hiro did brought him joy anymore. Classes were easy, and he lost his patience for the slowness of the rest of his classmates. His teachers had long since given up on trying to persuade him to come to class, and now his aunt was giving up as well. He could hear all the adults reassure her with "give him time," or "it's just his way of dealing with Tadashi leaving," but that wasn't the case. He knew what the problem was. He wanted to properly tell his brother goodbye, and let him know how much he appreciated him by his side, but he stupidly let that opportunity slide by him.

He was pretty sure that even if he tried to write a letter to Tadashi, his older brother wouldn't even read it. Hiro wouldn't blame him. Not after all the hurtful things he had said.

He sighed, closing his eyes again. He was tired. Tired of being bored. Tired of feeling guilty. He just wanted to sleep under the warmth of the sun.

Suddenly, he heard a rustle come from behind him. Sitting up, he turned slowly to face the bushes by the tree. He had heard stories of wolves, and he certainly didn't want become an easy meal. And certainly not to some mangy mutt.

The rustling continued, shaking the leaves of the bush. Hiro tensed up and scooted back slowly, not wanting to make any sudden movements. The rustling got louder, until a pair of white rabbit ears popped out from the top.

He immediately relaxed, frowning at the bush. "Thanks for scaring me for no reason, you dumb rabbit," he muttered, kicking a stick into the bush.

The stick fell short, barely hitting any of the leaves. However, as soon as it did, the rabbit shot up.

Hiro was lost for words. It wasn't a rabbit.

Or at least, it wasn't _completely_ a rabbit.

"Gogo?" he said in surprise and confusion, looking at the person standing before him.

One of his brother's friends, part of the group that had left with him to Paris, stood in the bush, leaves and twigs clinging onto her clothes. She didn't seem to care, as she pulled out a giant golden watch and checked the time. Her appearance was strange to say the least. A pair of soft, white rabbit ears stuck out of her dark hair, drooping down to the side and hanging over her shoulders. Her outfit looked like something that would only be worn when being presented to the Queen of England. In fact, she looked like a messenger for the Queen herself!

"W-why are you here?" he stammered, standing up quickly. "Aren't you supposed to be in Paris?"

Gogo only looked at the watch, then mumbled, "I'm late." She turned and shot through the bush, running to the forest.

"Hey, wait!" Hiro called, scrambling after her. "What are you doing here?" he panted, struggling to keep up with her. Curse his short legs… and curse her and her running abilities! She didn't even seem tired, even though Hiro was already drenched in sweat as he attempted to keep up.

She turned abruptly, running further and further into the forest. Hiro almost crashed into a tree as he struggled to follow along. "W-wait!" he huffed, clutching at a stitch in his side as she disappeared behind some shrubs.

Hiro burst through the bushes, wheezing from his run. To his shock, she had completely disappeared. "That's not right," he mumbled to himself. "I was right behind her! How could she have disappeared into thin air!"

Muttering under his breath, he searched the clearing he had landed in. It was a small clearing, about as large as the shade he had been laying under earlier. Getting onto his hands and knees, he crawled over to bushes on the other side. He cursed as he pushed his way through the branches, growling in anger when a piece of his sleeve got caught and ripped off, leaving the fabric in the thorns. Aunt Cass would not be happy.

Finally, he crawled through and hissed, "Jackpot!" when he saw a rabbit hole in the dirt. It was a rather large hole, even from a person's perspective. Whatever rabbit made this must've been a monster.

Hiro crawled over to the side of the hole, looking down into the darkness. "Hello?" he called in, hoping to get some kind of reply. Nothing. "How strange," he mumbled. "I can't even tell how deep it is."

As he scooted forward, hoping to see further into the rabbit hole, his hand slipped on some loose gravel along the side. He cried out in surprise as he lost his balance and started falling into the darkness.

He fell and fell and fell, seeing nothing that he could grab to stop his descent. After a while (for what felt like hours), he realized that there was no sign of the floor coming anytime soon, and he was starting to get bored. Crossing his arms and legs (in midair, he realized, how fun), he "sat" and began to think. _How could this hole be so deep,_ he wondered. _I've been falling for such a long time now, there has to be an end eventually._

And eventually there was. Suddenly, he saw light at the bottom of the hole. Closing his eyes and bracing for impact, he landed face first on the cold ground.

Muttering darkly, he stood shakily and brushed of dust from his clothes. He realized, with a somewhat humiliated gasp, that his clothes had changed into a pair of light blue jumpers with poofy shorts. A large white, embarrassingly frilly apron covered the jumper, with knee high black and white striped socks covering his legs. Feeling the top of his head, he could feel his face heat up when he felt a large bow. _If anyone saw me in this outfit, I would die of embarrassment_ , he panicked, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw he was alone.

Wondering how his clothes could've changed, he wandered further into the room, looking up at his entryway. He was surprised to see that it was just a ceiling, with no hole at all. The walls were filled with doors, all different shapes and sizes. Looking to the center of the room, he saw a glass table with a small golden key.

"That key must open one of these doors," he deduced. Grabbing the key, he painstakingly wriggled it into every door, hoping that at least one of them would open. None of the doors opened for him.

Tiredly, he moved to the last door. It was tiny, barely the size of his hand. Kneeling down to test if the key worked, he was surprised when he heard the lock click. The small door slowly opened.

Hiro felt like he would've jumped up in joy if he hadn't been kneeling on the floor.

Then came the next problem. How was he supposed to get through? He couldn't even fit his arm through this miniscule opening. Peaking through the hole, he was delighted to see a beautiful garden. "If I can get through this door, then I could get to that garden," he gasped excitedly.

Annoyed, he sat up and crossed his arms, trying to think of a solution. Well, he could try to break a hole into the wall, and maybe it would still lead him to the garden. But with what? All he had in the room with him (besides his humiliating outfit) was the glass table.

The glass table! Hurriedly standing up, he ran over to the table. All he had seen the first time was the gold key, but maybe he had missed something.

And missed something he did. Sitting on the table was a tiny little glass bottle filled with some kind of purple liquid. A small tag on the bottle read "DRINK ME."

Now, Hiro was not stupid. In fact, he was the complete opposite! Every tutor he had ever had all marveled at his intellect, praising him on his intelligence that far surpassed any professor out there. If he saw a strange bottle filled with something he had never seen before, there was no way in hell he would dare to touch it.

No, Hiro was not stupid. But desperate times called for desperate measures. Shrugging, he grabbed the bottle and popped of the tiny topper. Tipping the contents into his mouth all at once, he gagged at the vile taste. As soon as he swallowed, his head began to spin. Suddenly the room looked so much bigger. The room continued to grow until, finally, when he could take no more, he fell flat on his back.

Rubbing the stars out of his eyes, he blinked a few times and sighed. "That's the last time I'm ever doing something as stupid as that," he announced to no one. He was, after all, still alone. Standing up and brushing off his apron (he might as well get comfortable in these demeaning clothes), he looked around and realized, with a shock, that something was extremely wrong.

The room had indeed grown! Turning around quickly, he saw that, no, the room hadn't grown, but he had shrunk!

Now that he was so small, he would definitely be able to get through that door. Excitedly, he raced to the entryway, already picturing the beautiful garden he had seen earlier.

However, as soon as he reached said door, he stopped and gaped at it. It was locked!

 _B-but how? I made sure to leave it open!_ Looking back at the glass table, he saw, to his horror, the gold key glistening on the edge.

 _But that's not right…_ he pondered. _I made sure to leave the door unlocked. I didn't even take the key with me!_ Left with no other option, he made his way back to the glass table. Running back seemed like double the distance now that he lost the adrenaline.

Finally reaching the glass table, he leaned against the (now large) foot of the table and panted. "As soon as I get the stupid key, I'll be good," he growled, then froze.

The table had to be at least a mile high, now that he was so tiny. And the key was at the very top. It seemed to be mocking him through the glass. It was so close, yet so far. There was no way he could climb up, especially without any equipment, and especially not on glass.

Sitting down with an angry huff, he looked around the foot of the table, hoping to find something helpful. _Anything_ would do at this point.

Something caught his eye. There, at the far end, was a little purple box with a beautiful pink ribbon wrapped around it. Quickly scrabbling over to it, he almost felt guilty for ruining the perfect wrapping. Almost.

Nestled inside the little box was a small cake with purple frosting. Written on top of the frosting in white icing was "EAT ME."

Now, again, Hiro was _not_ stupid. Every body knows that you don't eat things you find laying around when it's not within the vicinity of your own home. Besides, he had promised himself that he wasn't going to do something that stupid again. Considering the results that happened the last time he had consumed something he didn't know about, he really shouldn't eat the cake.

But, alas, Hiro was out of options. Shrugging again, he took a giant bite out of the cake. It was a lot tastier than the drink. Before he knew it, he had finished eating the entire pastry.

A few seconds passed, and nothing happened. _Maybe it was just a regular cake_ , he thought. Slightly disappointed, he stood up, when he felt a little jolt. Then another one. And another. And another!

With each jolt, the doors along the wall began to shrink. _I must be growing!_ Hiro thought happily.

Yes, he was, in fact, growing. At quite an alarming rate. Soon, his head hit the ceiling, and he had to hunch over to fit in the room. Everything turned so small!

Grabbing the key (witch was barely the size of his thumb, the triumphantly turned to the door to open it and finally get to that marvelous garden.

Until he realized…

He was even larger than before!

There was no way he could get through that small door now.

Hiro was not stupid.

But at the moment, he sure _felt_ stupid.

He sat down angrily (with enough for to shake the whole room), and he felt angry tears begin to slip out of his eyes. Now, Hiro did not cry easily. Of course, when he was younger, he did. Actually, he used to cry all the time. Tadashi would tease him and call him a big baby, but Hiro still cried. Now that he was older and _way_ more mature, he would never be caught dead crying.

Until now.

Hot tears streamed out of his eyes, causing large pools to form around him. He wasn't really sure why he was crying. Was it because he was mad? Or was it because he was sad? He really didn't know. All he knew was that his eyes were overflowing with tears and the water in the room had already reached his waist. Granted, he was still sitting, but that amount was still shocking.

He also realized that it was getting very hot. The more he cried, the more the room seemed to heat up. Seeing a small fan on the glass table, he sniffled and took it, fanning himself to cool down. Within the first flap of the fan, he felt his body jolt and suddenly, with a small _pop_ , he shrunk down to the size he had been when he drank that purple liquid.

He was falling again, straight into the ocean of his own tears. He prepared himself for the water, but by some stroke of luck, he landed in the empty bottle that was floating in the water. The waves pushed him forward and through the open door.

* * *

 **In case someone didn't get it, Alice in Wonderland, everybody!**

 **This is just a short excerpt of it, but it won't really follow the plot of the actual story**

 **There'll be similar parts, but not the whole thing (so it's not completely boring lol ^^)**

 **Review! I love reading what you guys think about my writing tbh :D**


	7. Chapter 7: Good Night

**Good Night**

Hiro sighed deeply, stretching his arms high above his head. He was bored. Extremely bored.

He looked at his computer screen with disinterest. A notification for a nearby bot fight sounded, but he ignored it. After all, he had promised _him_ he wouldn't go to anymore…

Scooting himself to the side to look out his window, he peered out, hoping to see something interesting. Nothing. Just the same crowd of strangers. All walking around, busy with their own issues. How boring.

"I'm bored," Hiro announced, leaning back in his chair. Yes, he did realize that there was no one else in the room with him, but what could he say. He was so head bangingly bored.

He looked to the other end of his room. Sadness overwhelmed him when he saw the only tidy area of the room. A neatly folded cardigan rested on top of the blanket.

Hiro sighed again, casting his eyes over his own messy area. Clothes were strewn all over the floor. The bed was messily made, blankets full of wrinkles. Books were carelessly thrown around, some on the bed, some on the floor. The only real way you could describe it was that a tornado had ripped through just that section of the room.

Hiro heard distant laughing from downstairs. He smiled to himself. Aunt Cass must be having a busy time in the café, working by herself. He wished he could help her, but he really couldn't. After all…

A bell rang. Signaling that someone had just walked through the front door. He heard his aunt exclaim something happily. Then footsteps up the stairs.

"Oh, good he's home!" Hiro exclaimed out loud. He turned in his chair and waited excitedly.

The door opened. His brother trudged in, dropping his bag heavily on the floor.

"Tadashi!" Hiro called happily, waving his arms wildly at his older brother.

Tadashi looked up at him and smiled. "Hey, little bro," he laughed back. Walking over to Hiro's side of the room, he chuckled and muttered, "You made another mess in your room, huh bonehead," as he picked up all the clothes strewn around. "Aunt Cass and I just cleaned it up, too."

"It's not my fault," Hiro scoffed, watching his brother clean. "If the whole world were neat freaks like you guys, then there'd be nothing left to clean."

Tadashi chuckled and finished picking up his younger brother's laundry. Hiro watched him as he moved back to his own side of the room. "So," Hiro babbled happily. "Mrs. Matsuda came by today." Tadashi was busy taking out all his books from his bag. "She's wearing way too revealing clothing again," he laughed, holding his stomach. "I mean, I understand wanting to feel young, but-"

Tadashi's phone rang, cutting Hiro off. He pressed his phone against his ears and muttered, "Tadashi speaking," as he turned on his laptop.

Hiro huffed. After a whole day spent in a boring room, he expected some time with his older brother. Not just to get pushed off.

"Oh, hey guys," Tadashi said cheerfully. Hiro immediately perked up. It must be Tadashi's friends from school. He only met them once, but they were nice people. After all, they helped him get into SFIT.

"Yea, no change," Tadashi replied heavily. "I'm about to go check right now actually." Hiro heard someone say something back, then Tadashi said, "Yea, I'll meet you guys after, 'kay?" His brother hung up and closed his laptop. Getting out of bed, he grabbed his rain jacket at looked at Hiro. "I'll see you in a bit, little bro," Tadashi promised, then walked out the room.

"No, wait," Hiro scrambled after him. "I'll go with you!" he said cheerfully as he caught up with his older brother at the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs in the café, Aunt Cass approached them happily.

"I'm heading out for a bit, Aunt Cass," Tadashi told her. "I'll be back in a few hours."

Sadness flashed by her eyes for a split second, before a bright smile appeared on her face. "Of course!" she chirped. "Don't be too long, sweetie!" She gave him a bone-crushing hug and kissed him on the cheek. Tadashi laughed and waved as he exited the café.

"Sorry, Aunt Cass, gotta run, love you!" Hiro said quickly, running after his brother. He didn't want to be left behind because his aunt needed to give him hugs and kisses.

On the street, Hiro blinked at how gray it was. Dark clouds were gathered over San Fransokyo. The strangers that he had seen from his window had begun to bring out their umbrellas. Rain wasn't uncommon in San Fransokyo. In fact, they were known for their rather wet weather. The citizens of the rainy city usually always had to have an umbrella with them. That or get rained on.

Hiro wrinkled his nose as a big, fat drop fell from the sky and landed on his face. He didn't appreciate the water that was now cascading down from above. In his haste to follow Tadashi he hadn't had time to grab an umbrella. And nether had Tadashi.

Instead, his older brother simply turned up the collar of his rain jacket and continued walking down the street. Although discouraged by the rain, Hiro still followed closely behind him, ignoring the rain that fell. The black umbrellas from the walking passerby just made the atmosphere even more depressing.

A few blocks in silence later, Hiro asked, "So, how was your day?"

No response.

"Mine was great," Hiro continued. "I came up with a few different inventions. There's this one that I thought of that could help Aunt Cass bake cookies faster, but I couldn't figure out the coding…"

Tadashi just sighed, his breath swirling in the cold air. Hiro continued following him, completely ignoring the fact that he was now completely soaked. His shirt stuck to his skin and his hair was plastered over his face. Tadashi would laugh and say this was the first time he'd ever seen Hiro's hair not fluffy and poofed out as it usually was.

"I'm sure you can think of some coding for that," Hiro continued happily. "If I tried I'd end up catching the kitchen on fire… again… We can work on it together!" he exclaimed happily. "Well, you know… after…"

Tadashi stopped walking. Hiro had to stop himself abruptly to keep from running into his older brother. Tadashi sighed. "Well," he smiled sadly. "Here we are."

"Here we are," Hiro replied quietly, looking at the main entrance of the San Fraansokyo general hospital.

Tadashi let out a deep breath and walked towards the hospital.

"You don't have to go in," Hiro whispered.

Tadashi shoved his hands into his jacket pockets as the doors slid open.

"It just makes you sad when you go in," Hiro insisted, following after his brother urgently.

Tadashi laughed at something the nurse said as he signed the visitor's log.

"It's fine, honestly," Hiro jogged over to Tadashi. "It's not that bad."

Tadashi walked to the elevator and went in. The door closed. Hiro didn't follow.

* * *

The steady beeps of a heart monitor were the only sound in the room. The sterile white room was dimly lit, only the lamp by the bedside lit. After all, the patient was supposed to be resting.

"Hey, knucklehead," Tadashi said quietly, leaning forward on the stool he was sitting on. "Doctor's said no change today, but they said you responded to some treatment earlier. Of course, they said not to get any hopes up, but who knows… maybe you'll wake up soon."

His little brother was tucked under the white sheets of the hospital bed, an oxygen mask strapped over his face. An IV cord was attached to his hand, the sound of the dripping of the fluids inside the bag covered by the beeping of the machine by the bed.

It pained Tadashi to see his little brother like this. He was always so full of life, jumping around and showing his inventions to whoever was willing to listen. Now, he was just… dead. Not physically, of course. But he might as be. Confined in a bed. Trapped in a coma.

Tadashi closed his eyes, and all the events of that night came flooding back at him.

" _The exhibition hall is on fire!"_

" _My microbots!" Hiro gasped. He ran towards the exhibits, not caring that the building was now up in flames._

" _Hiro, no!" Tadashi grabbed his younger brother's arm just as the boy ran up the first two steps. "It's too dangerous!"_

" _No, Tadashi, you don't understand!" Hiro jerked his arm away from his brother's grasp and turned to look at the older boy in panic. "If I don't get them back, all our hard work would've been wasted!" Before Tadashi could stop him, the boy ran into the flames, disappearing in the red and orange licks of fire._

" _Hiro, no!" Without a second thought, Tadashi charged after him._

 _But it was too late._

 _Tadashi was thrown back by a powerful blast as the exhibition hall exploded. Debris rained down from the sky, pelting him and singeing through his blazer. But he didn't care. Horrified, he looked at the entrance of the building._

 _Flames roared into the night sky, sending an ugly dark plume of smoke up into the air. Ash rained onto the ground, scattering around him. "No…" Tadashi gasped, weakly stumbling to his feet. "N-no…" Prepared to run back in, he was held back by two people. They grabbed his arms and yelled something into his ear. He briefly heard them say that it wasn't safe, and that the fire department was on its way._

 _But Tadashi didn't care._

 _Not at that moment._

" _HIRO!"_

Tadashi sighed and rubbed his face wearily. "I'm sorry," he choked out into his hand, unable to look at his brother's still form. "I was supposed to protect you… It was my job as your older brother to protect you!" A tear slid down his face before he could stop it. He let out a shaky breath and closed his eyes. They found Hiro after the firefighters finally subdued the flames enough that they could go in and look for survivors. The kid had barely made it past the entrance before the blast threw him forward. Apparently he must've hit his head on something, because the paramedics at the scene had quickly diagnosed him with a severe concussion along with a rather large cut on the back of his head, and several second and third degree burns. They were worried because he wasn't responding to treatment at the scene, and he was losing blood fast. They rushed him to the closest hospital, San Fransokyo General, and told the Hamada family to hope for the best. A few hours later, the doctors came out with the news. Hiro had fallen into a coma.

Aunt Cass's scream of anguish echoed through the halls that night.

* * *

Hiro stood behind Tadashi as his brother sighed once again. He didn't say anything. He _couldn't_ say anything. He knew Tadashi blamed himself for what happened that night, but that wasn't true. "Sorry," Hiro finally whispered. "I've replayed that night over and over again in my head, and if I could change anything, it would be to stop myself from going into that stupid fire." He walked over to Tadashi and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. Tadashi moved a little at his ghost of a touch, but otherwise stayed still. "Sorry…" Hiro whispered again. "I'm so sorry…"

A tall, pale woman appeared besides the two brothers as they mourned, each for each other. She placed a gentle hand on Hiro's shoulder. He looked up slightly to look at the woman he had only seen from pictures. The woman that Tadashi and Aunt Cass had told him repeatedly was his mother.

"Have you made your choice?" she asked gently, looking at her youngest son lovingly.

"Yea," Hiro murmured, looking back at his comatose body. "I've decided."

He moved back to his brother's side and carefully kissed the side of his face. Of course, Tadashi didn't react. How could he? He couldn't feel it. "Good night, Dashi," Hiro whispered. "I'll see you around."

* * *

 **Sorry guys... TvT I was gonna update like... last month but I got super sick... then i had to travel and it was just one busy nightmare -.-**

 **So here's a temporary update! The rest of my stories should be updating soon as well! Sometimes this week if everything goes right haha...**

 **I was gonna make this a one-shot and end it on a terrible cliff hanger but I decided to make this a two shot instead hehe**

 **Just gonna have to wait till the second half gets added xD**

 **Enjoy this temporary update! Again, super sorry about the slow updates -.-" I'll be sure to blow you guys away with a better story soon!**


	8. Chapter 8: I Spy

"Ok, Tadashi, climb up five yards and you'll find the latch to the air vents."

"How the hell do I know how much five yards is?" Tadashi hissed into his earpiece, warily looking around the corner to see if he had been caught. There were three men guarding a vault door, sunglasses over their faces despite being indoors. Their spotless suit stretched over their heavily muscled bodies, laughable when compared to Tadashi's own lanky form. Luckily, he had somehow avoided detection.

His friend on the other side of the earpiece sighed and said, "Dude, can't you just go with my spy talk for one night?"

"We're not spies, Fred," he growled back, pulling out some equipment to climb up the wall he was hiding behind. "We're thieves."

Fred gasped dramatically. "I prefer the term 'treasure hunters,' thank you very much," he scoffed, slightly insulted.

"Listen, I'd love to hear you two argue all day," another sarcastic voice joined into their conversation. "But Honey is still distracting the guys up top, and I'm getting tired of waiting in this stupid van. Tadashi, how you doing?"

"Peachy," he groaned, straining to climb up the metal plated wall. The magnetic gloves and kneepads helped a little, but they didn't make it any easier. "Entering vents now," he grunted, pulling himself into said vents.

"Great," Fred cheered. "Ok, Wasabi, get ready. Tadashi, you have at most ten minutes to get this done."

"Got it," Tadashi mumbled, carefully crawling towards the other end. One wrong move and the guards stationed under him would start shooting, most likely at him. The downsides of enhanced technology: bullets that could easily tear him to pieces, even behind the metal plates of the air chutes.

"Right," Fred muttered. Tadashi heard him typing something, then he said, "Gogo, you ready?"

"I've been ready," another female voice growled. "Just hurry up before these muscle freaks find me."

"Alright, alright…" Fred muttered. "Wasabi, ready to start?"

"Ready."

"Tadashi?"

"Just hurry," Tadashi hissed, perched over the grate and ready to leap down. A bead of sweat rolled down his face and fell through the openings. He just prayed to whatever god out there that there was no one in the vault to shoot him.

Fred said it should be empty.

Then again, it's Fred…

"Alright, in three, two… Gogo, light 'em up!"

She grunted as she pushed off the wall, charging forward on her custom made skates. The electromagnetically suspended wheels made her faster than any car could ever go. Through the vent, Tadashi heard the guards shout in surprise and cock their pistols. He smirked when he heard them fire, then cry out in surprise when the bullets did nothing to stop his friend's approach. Of course it wouldn't. There was nothing that would penetrate through the suit he made her.

Speaking of which, it was time for him to act. Fred told him he had at most ten minutes, so if that was right he had nine and a half minutes left. Swiftly pulling out the grate to make an entrance into the vault, he dropped a cord of rope. It was more for going back up than it was dropping down. He didn't need a rope to do that. Smirking, he positioned himself and dove straight down, preparing himself for the floor.

He turned in midair and landed lightly on the ground, kneeling in hope that if anyone were in the room, they wouldn't notice him. Well, if they did they would've shot at him already, so seeing as he wasn't riddled with bullets, it was safe to think that he was alone.

He stood, looking at the hologram that popped up out of the watch on his wrist. According to the records Fred sent him, the "treasure" they were stealing this time was… more complicated than usual. They were, after all, infiltrating the very heart of Alistair Krei's home. Honey Lemon was set up as a distraction at the large party he had going on upstairs. Meanwhile, Tadashi and Gogo had snuck past the security at the party and found the vault Krei had the "treasure" hidden in. Wasabi was positioned outside, waiting for his team to regroup so they could take whatever they were stealing and get out without alerting officials, while Fred was located in their super top secret base and sending them directions from the scans they got from a satellite they had positioned over Krei's mansion.

Tadashi really didn't know what type of thing he was looking for. Fred said he didn't know the specifics, but he just knew that this "treasure" was supposed to be some kind of super weapon that Krei planned to make billions on. He walked to the center of the room and saw a pod of some sort. Was the weapon inside the pod? And if this was such a super weapon, why weren't there any guards inside the room?

Pushing the questions out of his mind, he focused back on the pod. _Grab the weapon, get out,_ he chanted in his head. He still had a little time before his limit ran out, but the sooner he was out of this creepy chamber, the better. He reached for the pod.

Only to withdraw his hand back immediately when the pod spun around to face him.

A little boy with a dirty brown beanie over his hair and half a slice of pizza in his mouth stared at him in surprise. His large brown eyes were opened wide, looking like a deer caught in front of headlights. "Ummm… 'an I 'elp you?" the boy mumbled through his pizza.

Tadashi gawked at the boy in the pod (he now realized, much to his embarrassment, that the "pod" was actually just a really large and intricately designed swivel chair). Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "You're not supposed to be here."

The boy immediately looked angry. "Wow," he scoffed, throwing his pizza back on the paper plate that rested on the armrest of his chair. "You barge into somebody else's room, _totally_ uninvited, and the first thing you say is that I'm not supposed to be in my own room?" The boy crossed his arms indignantly. "Real classy, bro."

Tadashi just dumbly looked at the boy. He was wearing a plain red shirt and brown shorts, legs crossed as he lounged in his extremely large chair (this thing was big enough to cover the giant computer screen set up in front of him). The oversized beanie on his head was ragged and looked like he had picked it off the streets. Tadashi even saw a small tooth gap in his front teeth while the kid was ranting.

Now, Tadashi really didn't like kids. No matter the age, he really, really, _really_ hated kids. They just somehow always found a way to annoy him. Either with all the stupid questions they asked, or just being annoying overall, Tadashi really didn't want anything to do with the part of the population below eighteen.

The scrawny kid sitting in front of him (still sitting crossed legged with crossed arms) couldn't be any older than twelve. He frowned at Tadashi and waved his hands in front of his face and called, "Hello? Anybody in there?"

"Huh?" Tadashi blinked out of his daze, staring down at the kid. "Sorry, I got distracted," he sighed, rubbing his face tiredly. "What are you doing behind that giant vault door?"

"None of your business," the boy huffed, still looking at Tadashi angrily. "Now, answer my question first. Why are you in my room?"

Despite the dilemma he was in, Tadashi couldn't help snorting and looking around. "This is your room?" he scorned. "It looks like a dungeon."

"Just tell me why you're here!" the boy replied angrily, cheeks tinted red. "Tell me or I'm calling security."

"Fine," Tadashi huffed. "Do you know where Krei's keeping his new invention, kid?"

The boy raised a brow at the mention of Krei. "No idea," he stated bluntly. Tadashi didn't need a polygraph to tell that this kid was lying, if not then he was for sure hiding something.

Just then, his earpiece spiked and Fred's voice urgently called, "Tadashi! Tadashi!"

Turning away from the angry kid before him, Tadashi lowly murmured, "Yeah, Fred, I'm here."

"Did you get the weapon?"

"It was a dud," Tadashi growled, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "All I got is a kid."

"A kid?" Fred sounded genuinely surprised. "I didn't- the satellites didn't-"

"Hey, guys?" Gogo grumbled. "As much as I love listening to you guys and your stupid discussions, we have a problem." Gunshots sounded through the earpiece; he heard it through the thick vault door, too. "I've got company, Hamada," she huffed. "Now hurry up and get out of there so we can grab Honey and go."

"Got it," Tadashi replied. "I'll see you guys in a bit."

"Hurry," she groaned. She sounded tired, probably from skating around and dodging all those bullets. "Grab Honey ad I'll meet you in the van."

Tadashi sighed and grabbed the kitsune mask hanging from his waist. He didn't usually put it on unless he was the one dealing with security. Gogo had a helmet that had a reflective surface that covered her face, and Wasabi usually covered his face with a bandana. Honey rarely worked with disabling security, but if she did, she had goggles that had the same reflective material as Gogo's helmet. Tadashi picked out a mask from a festival a few years before they made their "treasure hunting" group. He didn't need people seeing his face, after all.

As he slipped on the mask, a small hand grabbed his arm and the kid screamed out, "Wait!"

Tadashi glanced down at the kid who was looking up at him curiously. "Was that your gang?" he gasped. "Who are you guys?"

That question took Tadashi by surprise. He didn't really know _what_ they were. Thieves? Heroes? Vigilantes? They didn't exactly do much good. Sure, they stole from mostly upper class pricks, but the stuff they took was only valuable in the science world.

Even after three years of forming their group, Tadashi still didn't know what they were supposed to be.

"None of your business, kid," Tadashi replied coldly, jerking his arm out of the boy's grasp. "It's been fun and all, but I gotta go." He turned and headed towards his exit.

"Stop!" the boy screamed, scrambling after him. He bravely jumped in front f Tadashi, arms out to block him (not that it would really hinder Tadashi, but it was a nuisance). "You broke into my room, so that makes it my business to know why," the boy huffed insistently. Tadashi could tell that this kid wouldn't stop bothering him if he didn't give him an answer.

After a second of thinking, he reached for the sidearm he had hidden by his side. It was the only thing he could do. After all, he and his friends always had one set rule. Nobody could see their faces. And if they did, they knew what to do. He lifted it and pointed it at the boy's face. The boy didn't even blink. "We're killers," Tadashi finally said coolly. "If you like living, you'll let me go. Now." Pity… he would have to shoot the kid even if he did let go. It was their rule, after all…

The boy only looked at him. He blinked, then did something completely unexpected.

He moved closer, grabbed the gun head and held it directly to his forehead. "Then shoot me," he deadpanned. "Pull the trigger."

To say Tadashi was surprised was an understatement. He never had to threaten people in his line of work (seeing as he usually knocked them all unconscious beforehand), but when he did, this was never their reaction. To this day, he only ever had to shoot three people. Only one was to hide his identity. "Are you stupid?" Tadashi growled. "Do you want to die?"

The boy only stared at Tadashi with fire in his eyes, daring him to shoot. "If you're really a killer, you wouldn't be stalling," he said with a determined face.

Time stood still. The boy was having a fierce stare down with a man literally holding a gun to his head.

Finally, Tadashi sighed and put his gun back in the holster. "You win," he chuckled. "I lose." The boy smiled in satisfaction. He crossed his arm triumphantly.

Tadashi's earphone sounded again. "HAMADA, WHERE ARE YOU!" came Gogo's angry screech. He winced at her loud voice. She was not going to be happy when he eventually made his way back to the van. "Honey and Wasabi have been waiting forever! Hurry before those guards I knocked out wake up, you idiot!"

"Sorry, I got distracted," he sighed. "I'm on my way now."

"Well, hurry up, pea brain!"

"Are you leaving?" the boy asked quietly after Gogo hung up.

"Yea, sorry kid," Tadashi sighed, turning his earpiece off. "Didn't find what we were supposed to steal, so now we gotta leave before the cops come."

"Wait," the boy breathed. Tadashi looked at him in disbelief. He was already spending too much time in a place he wasn't supposed to be in, and this kid still wanted him to wait. "Take me."

"What?" Tadashi gawked. "Sorry, kid," he snorted as he tested the rope from the vent. "We're not babysitters."

"You came to steal something right?" the boy urged. "Steal me."

Tadashi looked at him incredulously. "You're kidding," he snorted. "Don't degrade me into a kidnapper."

"If you're a killer, then kidnapping shouldn't be a problem," the kid practically begged. "And you're not kidnapping, you're stealing, right? Just think of it as taking another treasure."

Tadashi winced. "Please," he huffed. "I'm not that kind of criminal."

A loud banging sounded on the vault door. Both occupants looked up, one in horror and one in surprised. The surprised one said, "Well, that's my cue." He yanked on the rope one more time. "See you around, kid."

"Please," the kid was actually begging now. "Please, take me with you."

"I'm sure you're safer in this room than coming with me, kid."

"No, you don't understand!" the boy was actually panicking now. "They'll kill me for locking that door, please, I _need_ to go with you!"

Tadashi squinted at the boy suspiciously. "Why should I believe you?" he finally asked. "What if you just take me to the security yourself?"

"Oh, please," the boy replied sarcastically, throwing him an incredulous look. "Do you really think I would take you to the people I'm trying to get away from?"

Tadashi wasn't sure. He wasn't sure if he was willing to trust some kid he had just met. Besides. He hated kids.

And yet… there was something about _this_ kid…

"Fine!" he growled, throwing his hands up in frustration. "But if you slow me down for even a second, I'm leaving your ass behind, got it?"

"Y-yes, sir!" the boy stuttered happily, then flinched when he saw sparks flying from the door. Evidently, they were trying to drill through the thick metal.

"We should hurry," Tadashi urged. The boy nodded happily and grabbed the bundle that was an old hoodie, slipping his thin arms through the overly large sleeve. He bounced over to Tadashi's side, excitedly looking up at the older man. Tadashi rolled his eyes and stepped aside, gesturing at the rope. The boy just looked at the rope blankly. Lifting an eyebrow, Tadashi said, "You know how to climb a rope, don't you?"

"Uhh… o-of course!" he scoffed, moving over to the rope. He looked at it unsurely, tugging at it nervously. "I-is this thing stable," he mumbled.

"Oh, hurry up!" Tadashi snapped. The shouting from outside was getting a lot louder, too loud for his liking.

The boy stuck his tongue out at him, then stretched his arm as high as he could. He grasped the rope and bit his lip, straining to pull himself up. Tadashi looked behind them, freaking out a little when a hole started appearing through the vault door. "Come on, hurry up!" he hissed, ushering the boy up. He turned to look up and see the boy's progress when he realized he was just hanging a few inches off the ground. Despite how little he had climbed, the kid was panting, beads of sweat dotting his face.

"Are you kidding me?" Tadashi growled, pulling the kid off the rope by the hood. The boy fell back with a yelp, sheepishly looking at him.

"I've never climbed before," he admitted.

"You don't say," Tadashi replied dryly. Looking at the boy's thin arms, he was sure the kid had never even lifted up a ball.

"There he is!"

Tadashi whipped around and saw, to his terror, a large hole through the door. It wasn't big enough for any of the muscle men to squeeze through, but it was enough for them to peer inside. Panicking, he picked the boy up and slung him over his shoulder. The boy squawked in protest, his dirty beanie slipping off his head. He gasped, scrambling forward to try and reach it, and nearly kicking Tadashi in the process (thankfully, his defensive training taught him to dodge in time). "Stop moving!" he growled. "We have to leave it, there's no time!"

"Bu-but, my hat!" the boy cried, still struggling.

"Keep moving and I'm leaving you behind," Tadashi snapped back as he started climbing up the rope. The boy immediately stopped moving, allowing Tadashi to climb swiftly up to the vent.

As soon as Tadashi's head poked into the vent, he pushed the boy up and into the chute. The kid scrambled forward awkwardly as Tadashi climbed in after him. "Keep moving," he hissed, undoing the rope to the vent. He covered the hole again with the grate, hoping the security guards were more brawns then brains. Just as he started following the boy down the metal chute, he heard the sound of people running into the room. A lot of shouts and angry screams told him, with a satisfied smirk, that they didn't realize they had climbed up the chute.

"Turn left up ahead," he murmured to the boy. It was supposed to be a shortcut to a deserted part of Krei's underground chambers. Then, they would just have to get back up to the main mansion through the elevator, run outside and get away in the van.

"By the way," the boy suddenly said. He was crawling forward (in Tadashi's opinion) with a painfully slow pace. "I never got your name."

"Tadashi," he grunted back. He didn't feel the need to tell him his surname.

"Pleasure," the boy said cheerfully. "My name's Hiro."

Tadashi didn't reply.

"You don't talk much, do you," Hiro asked casually.

"Kid," Tadashi sighed. "In my line of work, I'm not supposed to say much."

"Hmm," Hiro mused. "So what exactly are you? Were you serious about being killers?"

"Don't worry about it, kid," Tadashi snorted. "It's better if you don't know too much."

Well, he wasn't exactly lying. He and his friends had all done things they weren't proud of, including taking a life. Although none of them knew the specifics of what each of them had done, they knew enough.

Of course, those were all things on the tip of the iceberg. They had all done so much more before banding together. All together they had done enough to get on the FBI's most wanted list. Good thing they were all good at covering their tracks.

"Tadashi?"

"What's up," he grunted. With an extra body in the vents, it was starting to get stuffy.

"There's a grate up ahead," the boy said nervously. "What do I do?"

"Move back." Tadashi pushed his way up front. With one hard tug, the grate came off. Time to leave.

"Alright, listen up," Tadashi said lowly. "As soon as you're out, get up and run for the elevator." Hiro stared at him intently, nodding along with every order. "Don't stop, don't even check to see if I'm behind you. Just get into the elevator. Once you're in, press the lobby button, got it?" Hiro opened his mouth to protest, but Tadashi quickly reassured him and said, "I'll be right behind you the whole time, I promise."

Hiro seemed reluctant, but ultimately nodded hesitantly.

"Ok, eyes forward." Hiro turned and faced the opening of the chute. After Hiro turned, Tadashi quickly pulled off a taped up bag stuck at the top of the vent. Gogo had left it for him earlier, before they broke into the vault. After getting the pack, Tadashi silently reached for his belt and pulled out his duel pistols. Taking the safety off both, he murmured, "Ready… set… GO!"

The boy clumsily clambered out of the vent, tripping on the grate as he did. Luckily, he recovered quickly and ran to the elevator.

That was about as lucky as the two got. As Tadashi predicted, there were guards stationed around the elevator. As soon as Hiro turned the corner, security saw him and roared in fury. Several drew their weapons, aiming at the running boy. It wasn't hard to see the confusion on their faces when he didn't stop running. Usually people froze when a gun was aimed at them, right?

Tadashi heard the click as they all cocked their guns. Before the first bullet could be fired, Tadashi leapt out of the vent and fired at all the weapons. Each of his shots met their target. All the muscly security guards dropped their weapons in surprise. Hiro managed to slip through and get into the elevator. He scrambled for the buttons, throwing Tadashi a shocked look when he realized the older boy was still across the room.

Tadashi quickly got to his feet and charged for the elevator. Several of the guards recovered from what had just happened and reached for their fallen weapons. Before they could fire a shot, all they saw was a fox mask before the lights went out. Tadashi made sure to give them an extra hard kick to their pressure points. The two standing closest to the elevator collapsed, unconscious, in a mere seconds. As the rest of their comrades recovered, Tadashi slid into the elevator as the doors closed. Hiro pressed his face against the glass and watched as they moved up. They could see all the guards swarming around angrily. Several grabbed their guns and aimed at the glass elevator. Fortunately, Tadashi and his tag along were out of range. Even if they weren't, there was no way paranoid Alistair would make his elevator non-bulletproof.

"Now what?" Hiro asked excitedly.

"Don't look so happy, kid," Tadashi puffed. He was still breathing hard from the run over. He glanced at the screen at the top of the elevator. Two more floors to go. "Ok, here's what we do," Tadashi ordered, immediately going into action. He tore open the pack from the vents and pulled out the suit jacket from inside. Slipping his arms into the sleeves, he said, "You, hood up."

Hiro wrinkled his nose. "Why?"

"Because, bonehead," Tadashi snapped, adjusting the bowtie he had just laced around his neck. "Krei is in that party upstairs and if he recognizes you, we're busted. Now stop asking dumb questions and do what I say!"

Hiro huffed and stuck his tongue out. Tadashi could feel his blood boil. Barely fifteen minutes had passed since he met the kid and he was already regretting his decision to take him along.

"Fine," the kid snapped, yanking the hood over his wild mop of hair. Now that the beanie was gone, Tadashi could see just how messy this kid's hair was. It looked like a bird had decided to nest in it.

"Ok," Tadashi breathed, stretching his arms out and adjusting his tie one last time in the reflection of the glass. Slicking his hair back, he muttered to Hiro, "Keep your head down and follow my lead, got it?"

The kid nodded, sticking his hands into his pockets and tilting his head down, just like Tadashi said. The elevator door slowly slid open.

Soft laughter sounded through the large room. Every patron in the banquet hall wore either a suit or some fancy dress. They were all chatting in small groups, each holding a glass of champagne. Someone was playing a soft tune on the grand piano somewhere in the mansion.

"Follow me," Tadashi hissed out of the corner of his mouth. Hiro nodded, tugging the sides of his hoodie lower to completely obscure his face.

Letting out a deep breath to calm himself, he let an easy smile slide across his face. "The lady killer," as Gogo called it. Fred liked to call it "The Charmer." Tadashi just called it a smile.

Grabbing a glass of champagne from one of the waitresses, he flashed her a crooked smile and slipped a five-dollar bill onto her tray. He already knew what was going to happen. She would smile back, unable to resist.

She smiled back shyly.

Taking a long drink from the glass (after the shit we went through, he deserved it), he slowly made his way towards the large front door. Laughing along with a few guests of the party, he felt his heart rate speed up when he saw he was almost to the door. Just a few more steps then-"

"Excuse me, sir!"

Shit.

Turning around abruptly, Tadashi grabbed Hiro and shoved him behind his body. It was safe to guess that if anyone in that house recognized the kid, he was screwed.

A security guard with slicked back blond hair and a suit ran over to him. He brought up his hand and said, "You can't leave with that glass, sir."

"Oh, my," Tadashi laughed. "I'm sorry, I must've forgotten." Handing the champagne glass to the man, he smiled and bid farewell. As he turned to leave, lady luck decided to stop smiling at him.

His mask slipped out from under his jacket.

The guard looked at the mask. Tadashi would've face palmed if he weren't so majorly screwed. He roughly pushed Hiro towards the door, earning a yelp of surprise from the shocked teen. "Go!" he growled, diving for the mask. He pressed a button from his watch and all the lights in the mansion instantly went out. All the guests gasped in unison, yet they stayed where they were. Obviously, they thought it was part of the plans for the night.

Slipping out of the door, he almost tripped over Hiro's still body. He was just standing there, stupidly staring out to the gate. Growling in frustration, Tadashi grabbed the boy from the back of his hoodie and lifted him up. Holding him under his arm (it wasn't hard, this kid was _puny_ ), he charged towards the gate. He almost tripped when he heard shots being fired from behind. _Snipers, just what I need…_

Lady luck was feeling bipolar, because by some lucky miracle, all the bullets missed. Jumping over the hedge, he ran like there was no yesterday and almost cried when he saw the van. Reaching the van, he threw open the door and shoved Hiro in before climbing in right after.

"Tadashi?" came Gogo's shocked cry. "Who's the kid?"

"No time," he panted back, closing the door quickly. "Gotta go. NOW!"

"What are you- whoa!" Bullets rained down on the vehicle, ricocheting off the hood and metal. Needless to say, everyone screamed at Wasabi to start the car.

Seconds later, the gang was speeding out of the driveway. Gogo whooped at their success, giving everyone a high five. Then they all turned their attention to Hiro.

"So, who's the kid?" Gogo demanded, scrutinizing the boy's every movement. Hiro flinched back, moving closer to (and to his greatest chagrin) Tadashi's side. They were crammed in the back with Gogo and all the equipment. Honey and Wasabi had the front.

"I'm Hiro?" he offered weakly. She only glared at him harder.

"He's what I found at the other end of the vault," Tadashi sighed as he shrugged out of his suit jacket. "Asked me if he could tag along, and I said yes."

"Why?" Gogo demanded. She turned her attention to Tadashi angrily jabbing her finger to his chest. "You know the rule, Hamada, no witnesses. Why would you bring a kid with you?"

"He kinda gave me no choice," Tadashi retorted, pushing Gogo's hand back. "Don't look at me like that, Gogo," he growled when she glared at him. "He was put in that vault for a reason. Maybe if we can find out why, we can get more-"

"That's not our job, Tadashi!" Gogo interrupted angrily. "We aren't heroes, okay? Our only job is to take the stuff and kill anyone that gets in our way! Assassins and thieves for hire, remember?"

"I-I know that!" Tadashi cursed at his stutter. "But if Krei was so hell-bent on hiding this kid, maybe he's actually worth more looking into, didn't you think of that?"

"Hamada, you're a real piece of-"

"Language, we have a kid in the car!" Wasabi protested from the front seat. "We're almost back at HQ," he announced after his two arguing companions split apart and looked away from each other, grumbling under their breaths.

"You guys have an HQ?" Hiro said a little shakily. "That's so cool!"

"You okay, kid?" Gogo asked, lifting a brow. Despite all the harsh words she had been spitting she couldn't fight the maternal side of herself. "You don't sound so hot."

"I'm fine," he coughed. "Just a little tired."

"You don't sound so good, sweetie," Honey Lemon chipped in from the front. She turned on the light in the back in concern and gasped. "Hiro, you're bleeding!"

"What?" he stared at her blankly before looking down. There, clear as day, was a large, spreading pool of blood, right on his abdomen.

"Shit!" Tadashi grabbed his suit jacket and pressed it against the wound. "He must've been hit when we were running!"

"Crap, this isn't good," Gogo panicked. "Hang on, I'll tell Fred to have Baymax ready when we get back-"

"There's no time!" Tadashi snapped. "Hand me the bandages in the glove-"

"Guys," Hiro laughed breathily. "I'm fine."

"No, you're bloody not," Gogo growled, grabbing the bandages from Honey's outstretched hands. "You got shot in the freaking stomach and if we don't-"

"No, see?" He pushed Tadashi's hand away and lifted his shirt. "I'm fine."

Tadashi and Gogo balked at Hiro's exposed flesh. He was right. Apart from the drying blood, there was absolutely no wound to be seen. His skin looked as clear as a baby's.

"B-but," Gogo stammered. "Th-that's impossible!" She stared at Hiro's skin as though it had just grown wings and flown around. "There- there was so much blood!"

Hiro shrugged. "I heal fast."

Tadashi looked at Gogo with an expression that clearly read, "I told you so." "Now do you think we should look into what Krei was doing?"

"Y-yeah." Gogo was still staring at Hiro's stomach in shock. "We _definitely_ need to look into this."

* * *

"Mr. Krei!"

"Yes, I'm aware," Alistair Krei snapped at yet another security guard that ran up to him, probably trying to spout more excuses on why his vault was empty. "What. Happened."

"I-I' not sure, sir," one of his guards said unsurely. "We were guarding the vault door, then this yellow blur came out of nowhere… a-and we tried shooting it! Then we heard a noise in the vault, but the door wouldn't open, and-"

"Yes, yes, I get it," Krei snapped. "Now get out of my sight!"

Turning to look back at the mess in the room, he growled to his scientist, "What of the experiment?"

"He disconnected the tracking device," the scientist said in awe. "And I'm assuming he overwrote the locks for the door." He looked through the boy's computer, then murmured, "This is amazing…"

"Surfing through the experiment's computer aside," Krei said dryly, "what else can you tell me?"

"Well," the scientist adjusted his glasses, "the nanobots in his body might have done more than we thought." He laughed in amazement. "All we _can_ do at this moment is hope that he comes back by his own will!"

Krei sighed in frustration. This was getting nowhere. The scientist was still digging through the experiment's computer, and the guards were bumbling around outside like a swarm of flies. Folding his arms behind his back, he walked around the room, pacing in anger. _This isn't so bad_ , he tried to convince himself. _It's not like those filthy thieves just took your life's work away in one bloody night!_ Who was he kidding. This was bad. Really bad.

His foot hit on something soft. Looking down, he realized, with a shock, that maybe… just maybe… he had a way to fix everything.

"I might," he chuckled, stooping down to pick up the dirty brown beanie with the tip of his index finger, "have a way to bring back our little lost experiment."

"Oh, really?" the scientist guffawed. "And how do you plan to do that, oh great and powerful Mr. Alistair Krei?"

"Well," the business man smirked. "I do have something that he could never live without," he said smugly, tossing the dirty beanie in the air.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Oh, don't worry." Krei caught the beanie and smirked deviously. "He'll come."

* * *

 **Another AU! ^^ I've read a couple fanfics with this type of idea, but here's my spin on it haha**

 **I won't be updating during spring break (since I'll be in a wifi-less area...) but look forward to more ideas after!**

 **The next few chapters after this will probably be the second chapters for a lot of my other AU's, so look forward to that~**

 **Favorite, follow, review~**


End file.
